


The Saving of Loki

by roo2010



Series: The Saving Series [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Angst with a Happy Ending, BAMF Frigga (Marvel), BAMF Loki (Marvel), Gen, Hurt Loki (Marvel), Loki Fic, Minor Character Death, My First..., Odin (Marvel)'s Parenting, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Thor is Not Stupid (Marvel), Thor is a Good Bro (Marvel), he gets much better in this story, if required
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:39:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 38,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27900124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roo2010/pseuds/roo2010
Summary: The events of Thor happen exactly as they do in cannon. Loki lets go and ends up in the least hospitable place possible. Desperate he throws everything he had into a last ditch attempt to contact Asgard. what will happen next?
Relationships: Eir & Loki (Marvel), Frigga | Freyja & Loki (Marvel), Loki & Odin (Marvel), Loki & Thor (Marvel), Loki (Marvel)/Original Female Character(s)
Series: The Saving Series [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2043034
Comments: 31
Kudos: 59





	1. Rescue

**Author's Note:**

> I always said that I would never write Loki because I didn't think I 'd be able to get his 'voice' right. I'm still not 100% certain that I have but as we all know he's a persistent little so-and-so and refused to let this idea go.  
> This whole thing started as a dream (but ironically not this part of the story- that will be part two) and then the House of Odin became very vocal, so this is them having their say.  
> This, therefore, is my first Loki fic and I hope you enjoy, please let me know if you think it needs any other tags, I'm not used to writing anything that isn't fluff!

Loki was getting desperate, since his fall from the Bifrost and his arrival on this Norn forsaken planetoid, first as an unexpected guest and then, more forcefully, as a potential pawn in the plans of the leader Thanos his resolve, and various parts of his body, had been chipped away at relentlessly as his captors tried to mould him to their will. The torture never seemed to stop long enough for him to regain any strength and it seemed that Asgard was not mounting a rescue mission because surely they would have found him by now!? He hadn’t sensed an abundance of magic on this grey, rocky excuse for a base so he wasn’t sure why no one was coming. Though still young he was proud and hadn’t given his torturers the satisfaction of making him articulate any sound above a moan but he knew it was only a matter of time.

Once his captors had discovered he was from Asgard, and wasn’t that the biggest lie of his life, they set about trying to extract information from him, specifically about something called the Space Stone. Loki had never heard of it let alone know where it was but his jailors seemed to think he was being economical with the truth and were employing worse and worse methods to get him to talk. Weakened as he was from lack of sustenance and all the beatings he’d endured he was also determined that they would not win. Not for Odin or Thor of course, they had already shown what they thought of him, but for Frigga and the common folk of Asgard who had always had a soft spot for their Trickster Prince, for them he would hold on as long as possible.

He had decided that, on his return to his filthy, rank cell, he would make his last attempt to try and break through whatever barriers there were and contact his mother. As his main magical tutor his link with her was the strongest among the family he’d been raised in, and so any message to her had the best chance of getting through. He’d been hoarding his seidr for what seemed like days, only letting it heal him the bare minimum when he was left alone so that he would have reserves for this final attempt. Dragged back to his cell he didn’t resist as the heavy collar was wrapped around his neck to chain him to the wall, no other restraints were needed; he was too weak to walk unaided so his captors assumed escape was not an option. They knew he had magic of course, one of their main torturers, a creature named Ebony Maw had discovered that very early on and had created a pair of seidr dampening cuffs which controlled the amount of magic available to Loki. They hadn’t yet discovered that he wasn’t Asgardian however and though that knowledge made him sick to his stomach he was enough of a realist and strategist to understand that it was better if they didn’t. He could still feel some unrestrained magic pulsing inside him when he concentrated, not quite the same as he was used to but it felt biddable and safe enough to try and use.

When he was sure he’d been left alone for the night he hastily but precisely drew a double rune circle in the detritus that made up the floor of his cell. It had to be small so as to be hidden by his body should anyone chance to check up on him but Loki knew that a small circle would still be powerful and the fact that one circle was inside another would actually help to narrow the focus beam of the spell and ensure that nothing was lost in transmission. Ordinarily a rune circle was quite large so that the runes could be written big enough that there was no margin for error (a misplaced line on a rune could alter the whole spell if one was not careful after all) but Loki had discovered in his studies that size literally didn’t matter and precision was the only thing needed. Circles complete he activated them with a little of his own blood, he didn’t even have to make a special cut, and sent a quick prayer to the Norms for help as the runes began to glow green with odd flashes of blue and white. He took a couple of deep, stabilising breaths knowing he needed as much focus as possible for the spell to have any chance of working. Once he felt centred he wasted no time and sent his message through the Void hoping against hope the intended recipient would receive it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Asleep in the Royal chambers Frigga dreamed. She dreamed of her second son, her baby though not by birth, and how the family had let him down just when he needed them most. In her dream she saw a glint of green, the precise shade of Loki’s seidr and smelt the crisp scent of a perfect winter’s day that reminded her of Jotunheim. She also heard an achingly familiar voice calling to her

‘Mother, Amma. I am sorry. I am not strong enough. I need your help. Make haste. Please. I cannot… cannot hold out much longer.’

Frigga sat bolt upright in bed, one word on her lips “Loki!”

Her abrupt movements also woke Odin who immediately wanted to know what was going on.

“I heard Loki” Frigga told him “he is calling me to help him.”

Odin sighed to himself, having already learnt in the weeks since Loki’s fall that when it came to her second son, Frigga would clutch at any straw if she thought it would bring their wayward prince back. No matter his personal thoughts on the matter Odin couldn’t bear to see his wife of so many years so distressed but he also knew there was no hope for Loki and didn’t want to get Frigga’s hopes up by offering false platitudes.

“Loki is gone.” Odin said gently, putting an arm around his wife and rubbing her shoulder. “We held his funeral two sevendays ago, He’s in Valhalla now.”

“NO” Frigga insisted “I heard him loud and clear. He needs our help Odin!”

“Loki is dead” Odin reiterated “I regret it greatly but it is the truth.”

Frigga wasn’t listening; she shook off Odin’s soothing arm and hurried to her ante room where she kept some magical artefacts. The only thing she’d permitted herself to take from Loki’s room after his funeral was one of his daggers that she’d taught him to fight with hundreds of years before and she knew it was imbued with both their magic. Using it as a focus she quickly cast a spell not to trace the whereabouts of the caster, as they may be shielded somehow but to trace the trajectory of the spell itself. Odin was trying to dissuade her, to get her to come back to bed and not try this fool’s errand when there was a loud knock on the outer door to their suite of rooms. There was only one person in the Realm who would dare to wake the King and Queen at this time of night and sure enough the door opened to reveal Asgard’s Gatekeeper, Heimdall. He bowed respectfully but perfunctorily to Odin and said.

“Allfather, my apologies but I must speak to the Queen immediately.”

Upon hearing the unmistakeable voice at the entrance the Royal Suite Frigga hurried towards her husband.

“My Queen” Heimdall said gravely “I have news.”

Frigga gasped “You heard him too!”

It was a statement not a question but nevertheless the Gatekeeper answered.

“I did, my Queen.”

“And, can you see him?” Frigga continued, nearly breathless with anxiety

“I am afraid not Majesty.” Was the sad reply.

“Gatekeeper” Odin started “are you absolutely sure you heard Loki?”

“Indeed I am, my King. Over the centuries I have become well acquainted with The Prince’s magical signature and the message was accompanied by magic that could have only come from The Prince himself. It was definitely him.”

“What did he say?” Odin asked, curious now that both his wife and Gatekeeper had supposedly heard his second son.

Without looking at each other Frigga and Heimdall recited word for word, and pause for pause what they’d both heard. Odin was slightly more convinced at the end of the message but still wary.

“How do we know that it is not a trap?” he asked.

“We do not” said Frigga simply “but if there is the faintest chance of getting Loki back alive then I am taking it. Good Heimdall might I prevail on a moment or two more of your time? When the Gatekeeper assented Frigga led him back into her ante room and explained the spell she’d been casting.

“I believe” she said in conclusion “that if we combine our powers we might be able to divine Loki’s location.”

Heimdall happily agreed, for all the trouble Loki had caused throughout the years he had a soft spot for the second Prince being one of the few who knew exactly how he had come to be in Asgard in the first place and seen first-hand how he had been treated since. It was no wonder the Prince’s mental state had taken a dive when he found out his true heritage.

Frigga clasped Loki’s dagger in her hands once more and felt Heimdall’s larger ones cover hers to amplify their powers. She cast the spell again and even Odin, standing at the threshold to the ante room could see the thin ribbon of colour that emerged from their joined hands and headed out of the palace. The ribbon was quite remarkable having strands of Frigga’s light gold, Loki’s signature green, a dark copper strand that could only have come from Heimdall and a curious blue and white strand that Odin couldn’t identify.

“Can you trace it Gatekeeper?” Frigga murmured softly.

“I can, my Queen” Heimdall responded “but the magic traces back to a planetoid far outside the Nine Realms. Prince Loki must be there somewhere.”

“Then we must go and get him back.” Frigga said decisively.

Odin felt he had to put his point of view across. “Wife, are you sure you want to do this? It may be that Loki is happy where he is now and trying to retrieve him would only cause more upset than has already happened.

Frigga turned slowly to face her husband as he finished his little speech.

“You would not be saying that, Odin Borson, if you had heard the message first hand instead of a recitation. You and I both know that you are only the most powerful mage on Asgard at the moment because Loki is not on Asgard at the moment. His acquired and inherited powers combined outstrip each of us individually and yet he is in desperate need and does not return, when he surely would if he could. We have let _our_ son down far too many times in his life already and I refuse to do so any longer. Loki needs us and I will do everything in my power to see that he is returned to us safely.”

Odin had to acknowledge the truth in her words. He wasn’t sure exactly when things had gone so wrong with Loki but gone wrong they had and he mourned the mischievous young man who had drifted away from them into bitterness and malice. Maybe this was a chance for a fresh start, to mend broken bridges and they could be a proper family again. Thor would definitely need Loki’s wise counsel when he became King. Odin could see now that Loki was right in his assessment that his big brother wasn’t ready to be king when the Coronation was postponed by the Jotnar incursion in to the Weapons Vault. And diplomacy really wasn’t the Crown Prince’s strong suit either. Odin also knew that Loki had to _want_ to help Thor, to effectively be the voice and power behind the throne whilst getting none of the glory of being King, coercing him would do no good and just cause even more problems down the line if Loki though he’d been manipulated.

Realising the Frigga was getting irritated waiting for a response from him, and knowing that she would go with or without him, one way or another he made his decision. Turning to Frigga he said.

“We will take a small force, you, me, and Thor. You will need my abilities with dark energy to travel safely, and Thor, for all his faults, is a warrior without equal. I will collect a couple of items from the Weapons Vault and meet you and Thor at the end of the Bifrost as soon as possible.”

Frigga nodded her assent at the practicalities of the plan. The wreck of the Bifrost extended out to a promontory so would be well away from curious eyes. Odin then turned to Heimdall.

“Old friend, I ask just one thing of you whilst we are away, though I hope we will be not gone long. You and the Council are in charge. Do not tell them where we have gone or the reason why, and most decidedly do not let them pass any laws when I am away. I am hopeful that it will be less than an Asgardian day but it pays to be prepared.”

“It will be as you say, my King” Heimdall vowed.

“Good” the Allfather replied simply and using his magic to cloak himself from prying eyes as he hurried towards the Vault.

Frigga, casting the same spell on herself, headed towards Thor’s chambers. The Crown Prince had been distraught for days following Loki’s fall though he was sure that he was the only one who knew Loki had actually let go of Gungnir as opposed to it slipping through his fingers. He had spared his mother and father that detail not wanting to burden them with even more grief and so had shouldered the knowledge alone, the one whom he would have readily shared such an intimate detail being the one person he literally couldn’t tell. He had spent the days since Loki’s funeral sequestered away in his rooms, even Sif and the Warriors Three couldn’t lift him from his apathy. Odin and Frigga had finally shared with him Loki’s true parentage and species and Thor had felt ashamed of all the times he’d told his Jotunn baby brother that he would kill all Jotnar given half a chance, he’d even started to prove it on that disastrous trip to Jotunheim and he found himself wondering for the first time in his life if things would have turned out differently if he’d taken the time to listen to his younger sibling instead of telling him ‘Know your place Brother’. The answer, he knew, was of course they would have but now he could only mourn those missed opportunities like he mourned his beloved brother.

Frigga’s sudden appearance in his bed chamber startled him as he hadn’t heard the door open. Thor’s mouth gaped open as he took in his mother’s raiment, gone were her beautiful robes from Vanaheim and in their place was battle armour, not the ceremonial regalia she wore for feasts to commemorate valiant battles of days gone by but practical, versatile and effective armour that had clearly been made for her, though Thor was certain he’d never seen her wear it.

“Thor. Get up,” Frigga said forgoing all pleasantries “put on your battle armour and bring Mjolnir. We are going to get Loki!”

“What do you mean Mother? I do not understand, Loki is gone as much as it pains me to say it, but he is in Valhalla now, the Norns be willing.” Said the Crown Prince, confusion all over his face.

Frigga resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Mustering her patience she tried again.

“Thor, listen to me, both Heimdall and I received a magical message from Loki tonight. He is in danger and requires our help.”

Thor’s whole demeanour changed then. “Of course Mother, does Father know?” He added the last bit hesitantly, knowing how well the last interaction between Loki and Odin had gone.

“He does.” Frigga confirmed. “He will meet us at the end of the Bifrost after he has retrieved some items from the Weapons Vault. Now will you make haste please!”

As he tapped his trusty war hammer on the floor Thor’s night clothes transformed in to his battle armour, cape billowing in a non-existent breeze. “Let us go Mother, Loki needs us!”

Frigga sighed in relief; obviously the fact that the Allfather knew and was even planning to take part in the rescue bid had swayed her eldest son’s mind. She quickly cast an invisibility and sound deadening spell over both of them and the pair hurried through the Palace toward the place where her beloved boy had fallen. Heimdall and Odin were waiting for them but Thor failed to see any weapons on his father’s person, apart from Gungnir of course.

Odin acknowledged his heir “Thor. We cannot make any plans until we get to our destination so we will not waste time here.”

The trio gathered close together and Thor felt an unfamiliar sensation flow through his body. He’d travelled by Bifrost many times and knew exactly how that felt but this was totally different, it felt like every part of him was being teased apart and then put back together again. There was no chance to exchange brief words like in Bifrost as it was practically an instantaneous transfer from one place to another. It did make sticking the landing a little easier though; it took a great deal of practice to stroll out of Bifrost as if nothing had happened. Upon landing Odin, Frigga and Thor stood back to back and visually scanned their immediate vicinity and then the horizon. There seemed to be no signs of life on the surface of this poor excuse for a planet. Thor wasn’t even sure they were in the right place, Frigga however was a strange, and frankly scary, mixture of elated and determined.

“There is no life on the surface,” She said quietly in case they could still be detected “but I can sense Loki’s seidr. He has been here.”

Odin used dark energy to cloak them from sight. The good thing about this energy was that it was practically limitless and undetectable but it took a heavy toll on the wielder, knocking years off their lifespan every time they used it. Under the safety of the spell they moved forward, Frigga in the lead, following a trail only she could sense and Thor in the rear to protect their backs from any danger. The trio moved as quickly and carefully as they could over the barren ground. There really was nothing here, not even vegetation seemed to be able to grow. Suddenly Frigga stopped and put one hand over her mouth to stifle her cry of shock. In front of them was a largish crater, not too deep but wide, showing whatever had caused it had hit bedrock not far below the gritty surface, and at some speed judging from the diameter of the hole in front of them. They skirted the edge until Frigga stopped them once more and bent down to pick up the only thing with colour they had seen on this thrice bedamned rock. Her hands were trembling as she held the scrap of fabric up for them to see. It was a bit of Loki’s cloak; the shade of green he’d claimed as his own unmistakable.

“He was here!” Frigga whispered then, taking hold of her emotions, she cast a quick spell.

“That cannot be!” she said suddenly “This piece of fabric is telling me that it has been here months but Loki fell just a few sevendays ago. Oh Odin, what has happened to our boy in the intervening time?”

Odin gave Frigga’s arm a reassuring squeeze. “Hush wife.” He said softly “Loki is strong. I am sure he will be fine.”

Thor privately struggled to believe that, if months had passed here how much trouble could his brother have gotten himself into? Frigga however was resolute. “it will be easier to find him now,” she stated “I imbued all of your cloaks with spells of protection and warmth to name but two when you got them, now I can just follow my own seidr.”

They continues onwards, Asgard’s Queen leading them unerringly now towards some distant rock formation. As they got closer they could see the mouth of a large cave and Frigga stopped their little party just outside. Odin narrowed his eyes in concentration and then inhaled sharply.

“I sense a great evil here,” he said “one I have not felt since I was a young man, but I thought that creature was only a myth now.”

“Who Father?” said Thor, eager as always for battle, his time banished to Midgard not tempering him as much as Odin had hoped.

“Thanos, The Mad Titan” Odin said somberly “His own people exiled him when he proposed killing half of that planet’s population so that the other half might thrive. There has been the odd story that has made it to the Nine since then of similar occurrences but no one has ever discerned a pattern. If it is him, Loki may be in more danger than I originally anticipated.”

Thor and Frigga looked at each other worriedly as Odin spoke; this was not good at all. Suddenly the ground shook as a spaceship took off from a hidden launch pad and streaked away in at the atmosphere.

“With the Norns blessing we may have fewer enemies to face now.” Frigga said optimistically

“With The Norns blessing” Odin agreed. Reaching into the empty space beside him he manifested a thin black bar with four holes in it and spikes along one edge, positioned on top of the holes.

“This is the Ring of Entanglement” Odin started. He would have said more but for the identical raised eyebrows of his companions. It was a look so reminiscent of Loki that Odin took a second to ponder just who had learnt what expression from whom, and wonder if Loki realised how alike they were deep down.

“I did not name it, I just acquired it!” he said defensively as he handed it to Thor. “Put it on son, you will be able to use it instinctively as it will mesh with your natural seidr.”

Thor eyed the ‘Ring’ sceptically, the holes looked far too small for his fingers it seemed much more suitable for a woman, or perhaps Loki who was slighter of build all around. He could feel the naked power emanating from the bar as he brought it nearer to his left hand; he could use both fists equally well but suspected that his right would be predominantly using his beloved Mjolnir. To his surprise the band grew until it slipped over his fingers neatly and came to rest snuggly just above the webbing at their base. He wiggled said appendages and to his delight the Ring seemed not to impede the range of movement in his hand at all. He could feel the foreign magic reaching out to touch his own seidr. For all Thor teased Loki about his ‘tricks’ Thor knew, deep down and hidden away, that he possessed magic too. granted he could not, as yet, wield it with the finesse of his younger brother but Thor’s lightening could be just as effective on the battlefield as Loki’s illusions, though Thor preferred to think of it as simple harnessing the elements as opposed to conjuring it himself, magic was only for women and weak men after all.

The family proceeded into the cave which soon turned into a tunnel that was obviously not natural. It sloped down gradually and soon Frigga realised that they must be deep underground. They had met no sentries or patrols as yet as it was surely just a matter of time, Frigga stopped the little party for the last time to cast a spell that would allow them to hear each other’s thoughts and so communicate when they inevitably split up.

“No verbalising from now on” she warned Odin and Thor “speak in your head only and we shall all hear, if you want someone specifically think their name first.” After checking they were all cloaked in her invisibility spell, Odin having dropped his to concentrate on manifesting the Ring of Entanglement from his dimensional pocket, they moved forwards once more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In his cell Loki was crumpled on the floor, he didn’t even have enough strength left to keep himself upright but he hadn’t given in. he may have quietly given up hope of seeing his family – not family again but he was still resisting Thanos and Ebony Maw. Loki grimaced to himself, if the Purple Raisin and Grey No-Nose thought that a little deprivation would break him they had another think coming. He was also carefully not admitting to himself that if he wasn’t feeling so tired and weak he could have come up with better monikers for his chief tormenters but as it was Purple Raisin and Grey No-Nose would have to do. If they couldn’t do him the courtesy of using his given name and title so he refused to use theirs, they had taken to calling him Godling and Little Prince to name but two and though it was humiliating it was nothing worse than he had been called on Asgard and as such he simple let them see that name calling had no effect on him.

They had at least taken the gag off a couple of days ago, at least he thought it was a couple of days- time seemed to be strange here, though if they thought they would then get to hear his screams they had been sorely disappointed, his tongue had healed from the spikes on the depressor but he still wasn’t about to give them that particular satisfaction. He slipped into a fitful doze hoping to have enough energy to resist all over again the next time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Loki was stuck in his cell unbeknownst to him his mother, father and brother were slipping through the tunnels of the very planetoid he was being held on. He couldn’t sense his mother’s seidr, weak as he was, but she could definitely sense his and she was aching to go to him and assure him he was safe and would be well again. Frigga was normally a very placid and calm person which led those who did not know her very well to believe that she was simply the Queen and only served as a provider of heirs and a companion to the real power, the King, Odin. There were some people, though not many, who could testify differently; before she had married her King she had trained as a warrior on Vanaheim and was extremely skilled, in fact she had taught Loki all she knew when it became obvious that he would never have the prowess and power of his older brother. Although she was sad that particular fighting style had laid her precious boy open to taunts about his womanly style and that he wasn’t a ‘true warrior’; she also knew that many who had slighted him on the training grounds had paid the price one way or another for which she could not, and would not fault him.

Odin, Frigga and Thor reached the end of the tunnel without incident which they were surprised at but grateful for. Peeking around the corner they saw a large cavern with a raised dais at one end topped by a crude stone throne. There were two figures in the cavern; one was a huge purple being in golden armour with a very large two handed weapon by his side, and the other was a slender grey skinned figure with wispy hair and very few facial features.

On seeing the purple figure Odin ‘thought’ to Thor and Frigga _“That is Thanos. I had hoped never to have to deal with him. He does not possess innate magic of his own but can use magical objects and twist them to his own ends. I do not know the other figure.”_

Thor adjusted his grip on Mjolnir as they crept closer still, here was a worthy opponent indeed, a Titan no less, the songs sung about this victory would be wondrous indeed. On approach to the dais they realise they could hear a conversation.

“Ebony Maw, my son, how is our little godling guest today?”

“Still resisting oh great Thanos. I have never met one as determined as him not to break. Rest assured though Sire when my siblings return with the Mind Stone it will soon be a different story.”

“It is well for you that I am patient Maw, it has taken far too long already. At least the Chitauri are a hive mind and can remain dormant until the Princeling is ready to lead them into battle against the Midgardians.

All three Asgardians narrowed their eyes at this news, it did explain the lack of beings they had encountered on this planetoid but of more concern was the fact that the only person Thanos and Maw could be discussing was Loki, and they wanted to send him to conquer Midgard! Well that was definitely not going to happen, not whilst they could stop it.

 _“My King”_ Frigga thought to Odin _“You and Thor tackle Thanos, I will deal with Maw. I sense magic on him but mine is stronger. He will be no match for me”_ Her confidence was infusing her thoughts and Odin shot his wife a fond glance as he, once again caught sight of the woman he had fallen in love with centuries ago.

 _“As you wish, my Queen. Battle well but stay safe.”_ Was the heartfelt thought sent back

_“And you, my husband and son. May the Norns grant us victory this day.”_

The trio separated, Frigga preparing spells to take down Maw and Thor and Odin heading towards the throne. When they were all in position, Frigga behind Maw and Thor on one side and Odin on the other side of Thanos, the cloaking spell was dropped and chaos let loose.

The queen hit Maw with a stunning spell that didn’t do as much damage as she’d hoped and he spun around to face his unexpected adversary, manifesting needle fine shards of glass as he did aiming them for the vulnerable points on Frigga’s body. She was quicker than him though and a word from her lips made the needles coalesce and turn on their creator even as she spun and twisted out of their way. It seemed Ebony Maw had always relied on his magic to beat or subdue his opponents and hadn’t cultivated a physical fighting technique of his own so the sight of his glass needles turning into shards and heading straight towards him had him momentarily stunned. Quickly he used his magic to cause the floor under his oppose to shake but, with years of warrior training behind her she managed to keep her balance, even as she danced off the spot and drew her swords in a blur of metal and silk. There was nothing in the cavern to bind the woman in front of him and bringing down the ceiling would not be his best idea ever so Maw was stuck desperately conjuring shields to keep the swords at bay and retreating relentlessly away from his own shards. He knew he was outmatched but he couldn’t allow himself to be beaten like this.

“Witch!” he hissed at Frigga

“Yes.” She replied amiably “and this witch will see your end this day”

“I am a sorcerer” Maw countered “You cannot hope to beat me!”

“You” Frigga spat at him “are nothing but a bully with a bit of magic which you use to coerce others to do your dirty work. Well not anymore!”

Ebony Maw was getting frustrated, no matter how hard he tried to deflect them by his own magic or making that witch in front of him lose focus and so control of the shards he couldn’t affect their trajectory. Slowly, oh so slowly he they were coming for him and he seemed powerless to stop it. That witch just stood there with a vaguely familiar smirk on her face as Maw backed himself against a wall in complete bafflement that a mere woman could have bested him. As soon as he was fully against the wall Frigga saw her chance and with a quick flick of her wrists Maw’s arms stretched out to his sides and his wrists were impaled by the shards with such force, from a dramatic burst of speed, that they buried themselves in the rock behind him. Maw shrieked with pain and immediately a large and painful looking gag appeared on his face, cutting off his voice.

Frigga stalked towards him warily, she knew that immobilising a sorcerer’s hands and voice made him essentially powerless but she was taking no chances. When no bits of the cavern came up to meet her, or down on her still raised shield she was satisfied that Maw was vanquished. He had unadulterated fear in his eyes as she looked at him

“You death is not for me to take.” She told him calmly “You can wait here for it though; I do not think it will be too long in coming for you.”

With that she turned her back on him and walked away. He assumed she would head towards his Lord and Master to help in the battle against him but she didn’t. Instead she took a scrap of fabric from a pocket and studied it intently before casting a quick glance at the other combat and heading in the opposite direction, towards the cells. With nothing else to do; pulling on the shards was impossible as they tapered from a point that was deeply buried in the rock behind him to a blunt end that was thicker than his arm, he turned his attention to the other battle and immediately wished he hadn’t. Thanos was losing ground too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Frigga dropped the cloaking spell Thor and Odin both leapt towards their opponent. Odin’s speed belied his great age though, as with Frigga years of training and muscle memory helped a great deal. The fact that he was the God of War may have had something to do with it as well, though this far from Yggdrasill his Godly powers were inherently weaker. Still he had a trick or two up his sleeve that the Titan would not see coming. Odin managed to swing Gungnir at Thanos before the titan could react but it hit his pauldron and bounced off. The distraction on that side left the Mad Titan open to attack by Thor and Mjolnir, and the dent the war hammer made in the vambrace was satisfying indeed. Although Thor and Odin had never fought a battle as close together as they were at that point Frigga’s communication spell let them ‘think’ to each other what their next move would be, working in concert they could keep the Titan off balance as he stood to his full height to try and fend them off.

 _“We need to get him down again”_ Odin ‘thought’ to Thor _“If he cannot attack it will be a simple matter to bind him.”_

Thor saw the wisdom in what his father was thinking; upright Thanos towered above them and was a formidable foe, seated he would be easily overwhelmed. With this in mind Thor sent a bolt of lightning to the top step of the dais the throne was sitting on causing it to crumble just as the Titan’s foot landed on it. This, of course, made Thanos step back quickly and in his haste he stepped too far and banged into his own throne. Thor was quick to press his advantage and a larger bolt of lightning to the chest of his foe had him falling back into his vaunted seat. Odin was quick to seize the initiative and Thor could only gape as out of nowhere his father, the King of Asgard produced the Jotunn treasure The Casket of Ancient Winters. There was no time to give it much more thought though as Thanos was already struggling to his feet only to be hit with an icy blast from the Casket which forced him once more into a seated position and effectively bound his right arm to the arm of his throne.

Speaking aloud now Odin said “Use the Ring, Thor. Before he tries again”

Thor had paid no attention to the iron bar on his hand; it hadn’t impeded him at all and he’d practically forgotten about it. Now however he could feel its power, for such an innocuous looking thing it seemed to have energy to spare. He could feel it once more poking at his own limited seidr, seeming to like what it found there. The two magics melded together and suddenly Thor knew exactly what to do. Resting Mjolnir on Thanos’ left foot, knowing that only he or his father could dislodge it now, Thor raised his left hand towards his seated enemy. Immediately thin golden ropes appeared at the tips of the spikes above his fingers and raced across the intervening space. He watched in amazement as the seemingly fragile ropes bound Thanos to his own throne, and it didn’t take him long at all to realise that his hand movements directed the ropes and it was immensely satisfying to wrap a few strands around the mouth of the conquered Titan – not that he had said much really but Thor wasn’t about to give him a chance. Thanos’ struggling did manage to break a few of the fine ropes but to Thor’s surprise two more ropes simple appeared from the broken ends and made the bond stronger. There was no escape for the Mad Titan now, Thor found himself torn between looking to where his mother had fought the strange grey creature, to see if she needed his help or gaping once more at his father casually holding Jotunheim’s greatest treasure and using it to secure the Titan’s leg to the throne with more ice. With Thanos incapacitated he thought he should see how his normally gentle and serene mother was faring. The surprises just kept coming for the God of Thunder who, instead of seeing his mother engaged in a fierce fight, caught a glimpse of her clothing as she exited the cavern leaving her terrified opponent spread-eagled against the wall and definitely not going anywhere. Odin followed his son’s gaze and let out a chuckle at the perplexity on Thor’s face.

“Come now Thor, did you not realise your mother could fight? You know she taught Loki and really, why would the God of War be interested in a wife hat could not hold her own in battle? The first time I saw her fight on Vanaheim she was beautiful. Graceful and powerful coupled with a mind so sharp that even seasoned politicians sung her praises. I knew then she was the one for me.”

Thor quite honestly was wondering how many more secrets his family was keeping? He’d realised as soon as he saw Frigga’s battle armour that she would be able to fight but even though he hadn’t seen any of the action he hadn’t expected such an emphatic victory. Frigga’s voice was suddenly in their heads _“I am going to find Loki. I will let you know when I have him safe.”_

“So now we wait.” Odin said aloud, ignoring the struggling Titan on his throne.

“Yes.” agreed Thor

Both men lapsed into silence into silence, neither of them wanting to talk about how Loki might be, or react to seeing them again after all that had happened after the aborted Coronation. For his part Thor didn’t even know where to start with the fact that Odin had wielded the Casket of Ancient Winters with such accuracy and ease. Something was nagging him about that but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Frigga hurried along the dimly lit corridors of the base. She had beaten her enemy and from the quick glance she’d taken at her husband and eldest son they had their opposition firmly under control. Now was the time to find her darling boy. Using the piece of his cloak like a compass she followed the path it directed until she came to a bar covered opening in the rock wall where the cloak fragment brought her up short. Peering into the gloom she could see nothing to warrant such a sturdy barrier so she sent a small witch light to illuminate what could only be described as a cell, with a figure slumped against the wall in the filth that coated the floor. A swift blow of her sword on the locking mechanism had it in pieces and the door of the cell swung open at her touch. Putting more power into her witch light, so that she could see better Frigga hurried towards the figure. In her heart she knew it was her baby, the cloak fragment wouldn’t have stopped her here for anyone else but this body looked so pitiful that she hoped the cloak was wrong. As soon as she saw the heavy collar on the prisoner she deftly undid it and threw it as far away as she could. Only then did she dare look to gently raise the head of the mostly naked humanoid in front of her; only to look straight into the eyes of her darling Loki.

Holding back her gasp of dismay only by great effort she gently pushed his matted greasy hair away from his face surprised at how much longer it was than when she last saw him and cognisant of the fact that it meant the cloak had been correct and Loki had been her months not sevendays

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For his part Loki was panicking. He had very little strength left and his magic had not even started to replenish after his spell message. He scrabbled away from the intruder in his cell as best he could, adrenaline giving him momentum but soon he was completely exhausted again. What new torture was this? He was convinced that Thanos and his minions hadn’t managed to break his mind yet, his body definitely bore the evidence of his prolonged stay in this miserable place but he was sure his mind was still his own. How then could his mother be here? It had to be an illusion cast by Maw or an hallucination brought on by sheer desperation, nothing else made sense, surely his family – not family would have either found him quickly or not bothered searching at all for the Jotun cast off he knew himself to be.

“G’wy” he slurred, mouth dry and tongue lumpen after so long without even water. He shut his eyes tight, hoping that when he opened them again the apparition would be gone and he could go back to fitfully dozing. The apparition seemed to have other ideas though, moving slowly towards him arms out to its sides, palms of the hand on show in the universal language of ‘I mean you no harm.’ Loki had a hard time believing that though, he’d encountered nothing but harm since he ‘fell’ and this being (for it couldn’t possibly be his Mother) was probably intent on causing more pain and distress to his already beleaguered body.

“Peace Little One” the apparition said gently “You know me, My Little Loki.”

That gave him pause, the only person in the Nine what had ever called him that was Frigga, even when he’d grown taller than her he was still My Little Loki when there was just the two of them around. He secretly loved the nick-name, it was definitely the most affectionate one he had and he found himself beginning to wonder if the Blessing of the Norns had finally been granted to him. Licking his lips as best he could to try and get non-existent moisture to them he tried speaking again.

“Amma?” it came out as a mere whisper but the apparition, Mother, heard him and her face lit up into the beautiful smile he knew so well. She crossed the small gap between them and wrapped her arms firmly around his shoulders.

“Oh Loki, I am so glad we found you.” She sobbed as she hugged him tight “I thought I would never see you again.”

Loki couldn’t have answered even if he had the means to, his body was being wracked with sobs though he was so dehydrated that there were no tears to shed. He knew with bone deep certainty that this really was his Mother on her knees cradling him to her body as he shuddered through his sobs, there was no way that anyone would ever prise that particular nick name from him, it was for him and his Amma alone.

It was then Frigga found the magic supressing cuffs he’d been forced to wear, they were digging into her sides as Loki clung to her. She gently disengaged from his near stranglehold, making sure to keep bodily contact with him at all times so that she could examine these new instruments of torture. To bind a mage’s magic like this was tantamount to withholding food and water (though that looked like it had been done too) especially if that mage had been born with magic and not just learnt it, like Loki had. It took a bit of doing but Frigga managed to disable the magical lock and the cuffs fell away. She recognised Maw’s magic on them and thought briefly of him, pinned to a wall awaiting his demise and she was immensely satisfied.

If she was hoping for a surge of magic for her beloved son though she was disappointed, so far from Yggdrasil and so weakened by starvation and dehydration Loki barely felt a trickle of his Aesir seidr flowing in to his system again, nowhere near enough to heal him yet but enough to get him, very unsteadily to his feet. He could feel that other, strange and unrestrained magic better now but dared not tap into it again without understanding it better and this cell was definitely not the place for experimentation.

Once Loki was upright Frigga got her first good look at him and was aghast at how much he seemed diminished. Loki had always been lean but lithe; never managing to build muscle like his brother but now he was practically emaciated. He leaned heavily on her as they made their slow way back to the throne room. Frigga keeping a steady trickle of her own seidr flowing into her son by her side, hoping it would give him strength to do what was necessary to his chief tormenters. Frigga, Odin and Thor may have incapacitated them but the killing blows belonged to Loki, only when he knew for a fact that Thanos and Ebony Maw were truly dead would he be able to start his own recovery, or so Frigga hoped anyway.

When Loki realised where they were heading his footsteps started to falter, he really didn’t want to face the Purple Raisin now, was his mother by his side really his mother or a glamour cast by Grey No-Nose to lull him into a false sense of security? Would he get to the throne room to have even more humiliation heaped on him? He found that harder to deal with than the torture sessions, probably because it hit a little too close to the truth sometimes. Frigga felt him shudder and stumble as they moved towards their destination.

“It is well, My Little Loki, do not be afraid. Your Father and Brother are waiting for us and we can go home soon.” She said softly.

Hearing her pet name for him soothed Loki some but then the rest of her sentence parsed. Odin and Thor were here! Thor who had promised to kill all Jotnar on sight without ever knowing his brother – not brother was one, and Odin whom he could never seem to please no matter how hard he tried.

“Father and Thor?” he asked timidly not really knowing if he wanted the answer.

“Yes My Little Loki” his Mother said kindly “You didn’t think they would not come when you needed them did you?”

Loki couldn’t reconcile her words with what he knew of Odin and Thor. Thor had stopped helping him years ago, as they grew into young men with very different interests and outlooks on life. And as for Odin, well Loki couldn’t remember a time the Allfather had ever helped him.

By now they were at the entrance to the throne ‘room’ Loki pulled gently away from his mother’s grasp as he crossed the threshold and though she worried that he wouldn’t be able to stand she completely understood completely the need not to look weak in front of Odin and Thor. She watched as her beautiful, brave boy pulled on the demeanour of the Prince he was like a cloak, in the end the only thing that looked wrong was his tattered and haggard appearance. He paced as steadily as he could into the centre of the room, Frigga right behind him ready to bolster his magic or catch him if he fell. He stopped abruptly as he took in the sight though. There, pinned to the wall like a particularly ugly bug in a collection was Grey No-Nose who wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon with those massive shards in his wrists and pinned to his own throne by what looked like a combination of ice and gold sat the Purple Raisin, Mjolnir resting on his foot. How the pair of them had ended up in those positions was a tale he really wanted to hear but for now he recognised that his not family (though he might have to rethink that designation after this) had left him to deal the killing blows to his tormenters. He was glad the other members of the Black Order had been sent to find the Mind Stone; Grey No-Nose had been taunting him about it for ages how they would use it to break his mind and make him Thanos’ puppet.

Still doing his best to act composed he strolled towards Maw on the wall. Loki was acting on pure instinct as he had no idea how he would kill this sorry creature but he would die this day. Despite his best efforts he stumbled and threw out a hand to balance himself and was completely taken aback then he heard the far too familiar sound of Thor’s hammer flying through the air towards him and land gently in his outstretched hand. He automatically grasped the handle though expected to be dragged to the ground by the immovable weight at any second but Mjolnir seemed as light as a feather to him, not unbalancing him in the slightest. He heard Thor’s gasp of disbelief across the cavern and also thought he heard Odin chuckle but that must have been a mistake.

Loki took a moment to savour the feeling of power that emanated from the weapon that he had last felt pinning him to the Bifrost. What had caused him to be able to wield her would have to be dissected another time; she was the tool of Maw’s end now. Loki had taken lives in cold blood; long before he’d killed his biological parent Laufey there had been occasions when the person who’d slighted him deserved nothing less and Loki had not shied away from doing what he deemed necessary though he didn’t make a habit of it for obvious reasons.

Loki sized up Ebony Maw, pinned to the wall like a thin grey target, he had thought to prolong his death to try and inflict a modicum of the pain and suffering that had been inflicted on him by Maw but then he decided he couldn’t actually be bothered to spend the time. Turning sideways slightly he hefted the hammer in his hand to confirm the balance and swung it at Maw’s chest just once. He heard the crack of what passed for ribs on the ugly alien, a little more pressure and he felt them give, driving points deep into Maw’s vulnerable internal organs. If nothing else he would bleed out now. No help was coming for him.

Turning his back on Maw for the last time and still holding Mjolnir loosely in is grasp he headed slowly towards the throne and Thanos, Frigga keeping close but behind him, letting him do what she knew needed to be done. Closer to the throne Loki could see that it was indeed ice that pinned the Mad Titan to his stone seat and Odin was wielding the Casket of Ancient Winters! Thor seemed to be attached to Thanos by golden threads leading to Thor’s hand. They were undoubtedly magic; Thor was actively using magic to defeat an enemy. Would wonders never cease? Honestly, at this point Loki wouldn’t have been at all surprised to wake up and find that this had all been a dream.

The temptation to smash Thanos’ head in with Mjolnir was great but Loki could feel that foreign magic pressing on him again and this time he could understand it better. It was his Jotun magic that he could feel now no doubt brought to the fore by the proximity of the Casket and suddenly the part of Loki’s brain that revelled in irony knew exactly how Thanos would die. Loki would expose the last physical secret that the Mad Titan had never guessed. He would kill him with an ice blade like he’d seen the Jotnar warriors form on that ill-fated trip to his birth realm that started this whole mess in the first place. A small part of his brain wondered if it was really a good idea to show his Jotun side to his family, after all they had never told him the circumstances surrounding his birth until he started to question his origins himself and he knew that hatred against the Jotnar ran deep on Asgard. On the other hand Odin obviously didn’t have a problem with wielding Jotunheim’s greatest treasure and Loki also had to privately admit that his seidr was working hard at the moment just to keep him upright, calling on his learned magic right now would not go well. Innate magic it was then.

Taking a step forward and a steadying breath he reached out one hand for the Casket immediately he felt the power emanating from the artefact and briefly wondered why he hadn’t felt it when he touched it in the Vault. The Casket seemed to be helping him in some way for, despite never having tried before Loki was soon forming his very first ice blade. It grew naturally from his hand and although not as well constructed as the ones used by the Jotnar warriors it seemed effective enough. Odin seemed to look on proudly as his youngest son used his inherited magic. The Mad Titan who realised that his minutes were numbered writhed in his bonds as he tried to evade his fate but he was too securely bound. The ice holding him was too thick to break and the golden threads kept multiplying and now the Little Prince, the Godling that Thanos had wanted to aid him in his quest for universal harmony was advancing towards him with a look on his face that didn’t bode well for the Titan.

“My Lord Thanos” the traitor said condescendingly “I have had ample time to evaluate your offer of an alliance and I am afraid I must respectfully decline. In fact I have come to the conclusion that you should not carry out your plan after all. So I have decided to sever our partnership, and your body from life!”

As Loki spoke his last sentence he was pushing his ice blade through the golden threads and into Thanos’ body. The pain was excruciating, firstly was the blade was actually causing frostbite where it touched the Titan’s skin but also because it was slicing through said skin and the muscle beneath heading towards his heart. Of course as the blade touched that rapidly beating muscle that too froze and it was a combination if ice and haemorrhaging that did for the Titan in the end. Loki casually broke the blade from his hand, leaving it sticking out of the corpse in front of him.

“That is no more that you deserved you Purple Raisin” he murmured as he stepped away straight into his mother’s arms. Odin ceased the flow of magic from The Casket of Ancient Winters and shoved it back in his dimensional pocket. Likewise Thor managed to disengage his magic from the Ring of Entanglement and handed the item back to his father. They both turned to look at Loki in his mother’s embrace. His body had turned into his Jotun form whilst he formed his weapon of choice and his heritage lines could plainly be seen winding over his blue skinned body. The only difference apart from that were his eyes which had turned crimson red instead of his usual brilliant green, otherwise his bone structure and facial features remained identical. Thor made a move to protect his mother from the frostbite he was sure she must be suffering from having so much of Loki’s bare skin touching her but to his surprise she showed no signs of discomfort whatsoever.

The Crown Prince of Asgard jumped as his father tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention.

“It is a Jotun defence mechanism my son, their skin will only burn others when they feel threatened.” Odin murmured as he moved past his oldest son and towards his wife and youngest.

Loki tensed completely when he realised the Allfather was behind him but years of rigorous royal training had him disengaging from Frigga’s hold in order to face his King properly. To his surprise Odin pulled him into a hug just as fierce as the one he had just relinquished.

“My son, Loki, I am so very proud of you.”

Loki panicked, Odin was talking to him but his mind couldn’t make sense of the words. Things were just not adding up at the moment and Loki just started babbling at the King of Asgard.

“I did not divulge any secrets your Majesty, I swear to the Norns I gave away no vital information. I tried my hardest not to say anything, I promise.”

Odin saw his youngest son practically vibrating with his need to assure his adoptive father that he had kept all Asgard’s secrets and wondered, not for the first time where he had gone so wrong with the boy that the man before him was obviously terrified of what Odin might say next. He met Frigga’s eyes and using the thought spell she said clearly in his head.

 _“You are not his King now, after all he has been through he needs his Father. I hope you remember how to be that!”_ That gave Odin pause, had he really only been a King to Loki? Thinking quickly the answer was probably ‘Yes’ Time to start redressing the balance then.

“Peace Loki, hush my son.” He said hesitantly “All is well. I know you will not have given away our secrets and anyway it will not matter because the Titan is dead, killed by your very own hands. Oh the songs that will be sung at feasts in your honour, when you have recovered of course” Odin finished with a wry smile at his son who was visibly confused now.

“Allfather I do not understand” Loki stammered.

“Nor would I expect you to right now Loki, too much has happened in such a short time but rest assured I am proud of you, my son. There is much to discuss but it will keep until you are totally recovered.”

Loki’s mind was reeling. How often had he wanted Odin’s approval and pride just to have disappointed him instead and now, on this barren planetoid where he had endured worse than he ever had, and that included having his lips sewn shut, Odin was finally saying he was proud of his wayward son? It was too much for Loki to take in on top on everything else, too much to process for his brain so he did the only thing that made sense to him and gave in to the darkness that had been hovering at the edges of his vision since he’d hugged his mother.

Seeing Loki drop like a stone Thor leapt forward and managed to catch him, protecting his head whilst lowering him to the cavern floor. Frigga quickly checked him with her magic.

“It is just the exhaustion and shock on top of everything else.” She reassured her husband and eldest son “Hardly surprising really, considering all he has been through and actually for the best as travelling back to Asgard conscious in his state would be harmful indeed.” Saying that she gently laid her hands on Loki’s temples and whispered “Sleep”

There was no discernible change in his little brother’s features except a slight relaxing of his face and Thor took a moment to see how young his brother really looked.

“We must get back to Asgard” Frigga said briskly “Loki’s slipping unconscious is a product of today only, he has injuries that should be tended to by Eir as soon as possible. At least he will not dream, I made sure of that with the spell.”

The family quickly gathered any dropped weapons and Thor picked Loki up as gently as he could after Frigga has wrapped Loki in Thor’s cloak, explaining that it would make Loki feel safe even on the subconscious level. Thor privately thought that Loki would be mightily peeved if he knew he was wearing Thor’s colours and not his own but Loki was wearing the barest remnants of his own clothes. His leathers were nowhere in sight and what was left of his underwear doing his best to cover his modesty. When they were already to depart Odin called on the dark energy again and transported all of them directly to the Royal Wing of the Healing Halls. Each member of the Royal Family had their own designated room here and once he had gently laid Loki on the bed Thor was dispatched to find Loki’s personal Healer Eir as quickly as he could whilst Frigga fussed over her darling boy, happy that he was back on Asgard but fully aware of the long and painful road ahead for the whole family as they came to terms with what had happened.


	2. Recovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki has been rescued by those he thought were no longer his family (he is going to have to re-evaluate that soon) and now starts the long road of healing and reconciliation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh wow peeps, I am totally blown away by the response this story has had, I never thought it would get as many hits and kudos in such a short space of time, and I thank you, and love you all. Also you might notice that I have changed the format of the series slightly so that it is now going to be two chaptered works instead of a linked series of complete works as this makes it easier for me.

Sound came back first, as it always did for Loki, and the first thing he registered was the birds singing outside ‘That is strange’ he thought ‘there are no birds on the Norns forsaken planetoid. My dreams have certainly been a lot nicer recently.’ Then he noticed the soft, slow breaths of someone sleeping ‘I can hear myself sleeping’ Loki thought ‘Curiouser and curiouser.’ He chanced cracking one eye open slightly, not really wanting to, believing that he would only see the four walls of the cell he was forced to be in at the moment, and have to brace himself both for the disappointment and for another round of Thanos’ ‘hospitality.’

Instead he saw a room he knew nearly as well as the cell, a result of an adventurous childhood and having Thor for an older brother. He knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that he was in his personal room in the Healing Halls of the Asgardian Royal Palace; the sweet smell of the blossoms drifting through open window confirmed it. He tried to sit up only to be thwarted by his lack of muscle and something holding his right arm to the bed. Cautiously he opened his other eye and saw a very familiar mass of golden curls that were normally worn in an elegant up do now lying messily over his arm and chest.

“Amma?” Loki tried to speak but all that came out was a pathetic croak. He tried to get some moisture into his mouth and made another unsuccessful attempt to speak. He huffed; frustrated at not being able to do such a simple thing as call to his mother and that seemed to do the trick.

Frigga woke up in an instant and immediately looked at her son “Oh My Little Loki” she said wetly “You are awake at last!” and she sent a wisp of magic towards the door where it passed through and headed to the recipients of the message. “Eir will be here shortly,” Frigga explained “and your Father though I think Thor will keep for another day.”

Loki had to concur, he had no idea how long he had been back on Asgard and now he was awake memories were trickling back of his time on Sanctuary and as if that wasn’t enough to contend with he would be face to face with the Allfather much sooner than he’d like.

Eir arrived and subjected Loki to as thorough a diagnostic as she could using a hand held scanner. She checked him from top to toe on his front and pronounced him remarkably well healed but she would come and check his other injuries after the Allfather had been. Loki was grateful that there was no chance of Odin seeing him in such a pathetic position, back on show and vulnerable, as least if he was lying on his back he could keep some decorum, but he was also wary of how many other injuries he may have sustained, having no real idea of the state his family had found him in and not really sure he wanted to know if he was honest with himself.

Odin chose that moment to enter Loki’s room and after bowing to her King and Queen Eir left with an “I will be back soon My Prince.” to Loki. He barely registered her comment, torn as to what to do now. Royal Protocol dictated that he should rise and salute his King in the warrior fashion, on one knee and fist on his heart but at that precise moment he wasn’t sure if he could sit up unaided or even if he should. To his surprise the Allfather must have guessed his dilemma because as he pulled up a chair his first words were

“Rest there my son, we can talk as easily with you lying down, and you should not be over exerting yourself at the moment.”

Loki had to work hard to stop his jaw dropping, this was so out of character for Odin that he surreptitiously tried to pinch himself under the covers but his fingers didn’t want to seem to cooperate.

“Thank you for your consideration My King.” He said humbly and quietly, his voice still wasn’t working properly apparently. Frigga realised the problem and held a goblet of water to Loki’s lips, only letting him have tiny sips. The water tasted better than anything he’d had in ages, so pure and clean he wondered where it had been sourced from. It was then he realised that all his senses seemed heightened, colours seemed brighter, scents were stronger and

sounds were so loud that he nearly tried to put his hands over his ears to block them. In contrast touch seemed dulled, practically non-existent. He would have to ask Eir about that when she returned.

“How are you feeling Loki?” Odin asked solicitously.

“I am well Allfather, thank you.”

The imposing figure raised an imperious eyebrow incredulously. “So, ready to go on the training grounds by the end of the sevenday then? He asked with a twinkle in his eye that Loki totally failed to see.

“Ah. Well. Maybe not this sevenday Allfather, but hopefully by the end of the next one I should be fit enough again.” Loki babbled though his voice still wasn’t strong enough to carry very far. He didn’t want Odin to think him weak or incapable ‘well’, he thought to himself wryly, ‘any weaker that he inevitably already did.’

“Peace Loki” said Odin, seeing his son’s distress “There is no haste. You have been subjected to an ordeal that few can comprehend and have come through the other side remarkably well considering, though it would be better for you to avoid both the Court and the warriors until you are fully well again I think.”

Loki felt completely unmoored, this was so unlike Odin that he wondered briefly if he was still asleep, only the pressure of his mother’s hand on his leg under the furs kept him grounded enough to answer.

“I thank you Allfather.”

Something flitted across Odin’s face at the repeated use of his official title but Loki didn’t spot it. What did he have to do, Odin wondered, for Loki to call him Father again?

“I shall leave you to rest now Loki. I am sure you need it and I would not want Eir to think I am taxing you too much, especially when she still has some more checks to do.”

Loki smiled faintly. Eir was his personal Healer, the only one who had ever taken care of him for as long as he could remember, no matter what time of day or night he turned up in the Healing Halls. She was also the Palace’s Head Healer and as such was one of the few who could tell any member of the Royal Family off if she thought they merited it, Loki was sure Odin had caught her wrath more than once. Acknowledging Odin’s leave taking with an inclination of his head Loki sank back into the pillows as his King exited the room.

There was so much he wanted to talk to Frigga and Odin about. Why had they kept the secret of his birth from him? What had Odin’s plans been for him? And most importantly, a better explanation of how he came to be in Asgard anyway rather than the aborted and less than detailed account by Odin in the Vault before he fell into his convenient Sleep. He knew though that however desperate he was for answers they would have to wait, his mother looked in no mood to indulge him with answers right now, in fact quite the opposite. Eir returned then interrupting his train of thought.

“Allmother. Loki.” She said warmly “I hope the Allfather’s visit was not too tiring for you My Prince? I just need to check your back to see how it is healing.”

Loki nodded his assent but was unsure how it would be accomplished. All his limbs felt like they were weighed down with Uru and he had to actually check that Mjolnir was not sitting on his chest again.

“Do you want me to sit forward?” Loki asked, wondering how else Eir would be able to see his back.

“That will not be necessary” Frigga answered “just trust me and relax Loki, all will be well.”

‘Trust and relax’ thought Loki ‘Well trust was fairly easy though he still wanted to know why Frigga had withheld the details of his birth from him. Relax might be a bit harder though.’ He pushed all thoughts of where he was right now away and tried to picture his own suite of rooms, his big and extremely comfy bed surrounded by his books, well those that had spilled over from his study anyway. He looked forward to getting back to those rooms where he could just be himself with no judgement or censure from anyone who thought they had the right in the first place. He did find himself relaxing and as soon as he was Frigga cast a quick spell that had him levitating supine off the bed. Eir used the hand held scanner again running it along his back from head to toe and when she had her readings Frigga lowered her son back onto the bed and pulled the furs back over him.

A quick glance at the scanner had a tentative smile on the Head Healer’s face. “Well it might be a bit early to tell but there seems to be a marked improvement in you today My Prince, coupled with the fact that you have woken up at last and I would say you are safely on the road to a physical recovery.”

“At last?” Loki queried having heard that phrase twice now since he’d woken up “How long have I been asleep?”

Frigga and Eir exchanged a glance and the queen nodded slightly.

“Two sevendays, My Prince. Your injuries and seidr depletion meant that your body was at odds with itself so the best thing for you was a magically induced sleep. Even now your internal and external injuries are extensive. You feel no pain because we have cast a very powerful spell on you to negate it. As you recover we will reduce the potency. Pain after all is a very useful indicator when someone is doing something they are not physically ready for.”

Loki had the grace to look sheepish, he knew he was being gently admonished for all the previous times he had discharged himself from the Healing Halls thinking he was well enough when he wasn’t but in his defence he really didn’t like being cooped up in here. From what he’d heard already he was going to be stuck in here a fair while this time.

“I recommend another seven sessions of regeneration in the Soul Forge for your injuries My Prince. There is a lot of scar tissue all over your body and internal organs that will inhibit free movement if we do not deal with it. You will be unable to fight as effectively as you could before without the sessions and we also need to help your intestines along. They too need a couple of sessions before you can even contemplate solid food again.”

Loki was suddenly very grateful he was lying down as he was assailed with partial memories of severe whippings, deliberate dislocation of his joints and blades thrust into his body with no regard for what they hit on the way through, and that was just some of the ‘gentler’ tortures. He had tried to disassociate during these sessions, sending his mind to a safe place in his head, desperate not to be present for whatever tortures his body was subjected to and he’d been successful for the most part. He knew the memories of what had happened to him were not gone, only contained and anything could trigger them at any time such as now, a mere mention of his injuries led to his breaths speeding up and getting shallower and his heartrate spiking madly. Once again it was the presence of the queen that brought him back; she would never have subjected him to such horrors and so if she was with him he was safe. Eir explained that with careful calibration of the Soul Forge they would be able to give him two sessions equidistant and closer together than usual for now, one for his bones, muscle and skin and one to promote the healing of his intestines so that he could ingest solid food again but in the meantime he would have to rely on potions, something he wasn’t looking forward to at all. Being enough of a realist to know which battles were worth fighting he nodded his understanding and resigned himself to a long convalescence.

“Just one last thing My Prince, I need to check your hands” said Eir gently

“My hands?” Loki queried hesitantly “What is wrong with my hands?”

“Well My Prince.” The Head Healer started to explain. “It seems your captors may have targeted your hands as a form of punishment. Each bone has been broken at least once and some multiple times. They have also been allowed to heal misaligned so that, without proper treatment they would have eventually become crippled and useless.”

Loki paled considerably at the news. He knew Eir was never one to sweeten the potion but he had no idea his hands were that bad, he briefly wondered if that was why the ice blade that killed Thanos was so misshapen but then had to focus on what Eir was saying. He was a Mage; he needed his hands to cast his spells! What good was a Mage who couldn’t do magic? He would have nothing then, too weak to be considered a true warrior, though he knew no one could match him with his daggers. Could being the operative word he thought morosely, the past tense could end up being totally appropriate and if he didn’t have his magic either life would be intolerable.

Slowly, and with Frigga’s help he raised an arm out of the covers so Eir could inspect it. To his surprise his hand seemed to be wrapped in golden webbing and now he was concentrating he could feel his mother’s seidr in the weave. Closer inspection revealed that the webbing was fashioned into rough gloves which were held at the wrist with a golden band, a glowing crystal embedded in the band. Loki had never seen anything like it before and the Mage was fascinated as to the working that had been cast.

“It feels like the Soul Forge.” He murmured mainly to himself but Frigga answered.

“That is because it is based on the Soul Forge, my son. You needed something focussed for your hands to heal and I was more than happy to help.”

Loki was overcome with emotions; the first he’d felt that weren’t fear or despair in so long. It was all hitting home now, he was safe on Asgard , Thanos and Ebony Maw were dead, his adopted father had said he was proud of him, and even Thor whom Loki hasn’t seen since he’d woken up had come to help with the rescue mission and apparently could wield seidr now. It was all too much, so different from when he’d let go of Gungnir however long ago it was and before he could get himself under control tears started rolling down his cheeks. Frigga took a soft cloth and wiped them away whilst internally delighting in the fact that he had enough spare liquid in is body to make tears. The last time he had tried to cry, in the cell on that Mad Titan’s base he’d not had the moisture to spare. It was a further sign that he was healing, albeit slower than usual. Being back within Yggdrasil’s branches was helping Frigga knew but Loki’s learnt magic, as she’d taken to calling it since his Jotun magic had manifested, had taken nearly as big a pummelling as his body and would need time to recover . As it was Loki couldn’t even conjure a flame, the first spell she’d ever taught him when he was just about old enough to follow simple instructions. It was clear to all that it would be a long time until he was back to his best but Frigga was determined to help him in any way she could, if his pride would let him accept said help. No matter; she had let her little boy down for the last time, it would not happen again!

For his part Loki knew he was facing one of the toughest challenges in his life; regeneration and realignment via the Soul Forge was possible for a body but the sessions had to have a sevenday between them or else it would be too much too soon and the body would reject the treatment. It had to be done carefully as well, as mistakes could not be rectified without re-breaking the affected part. He was going to be in this room for a long time it seemed and he wondered if he could persuade his mother to bring him something to read, he didn’t want his mind to stagnate whilst the rest of him healed, and then he remembered the state of his hands and wondered when he’d be able to use them again? Because he was not going to let this beat him! If Thanos couldn’t break him on Sanctuary, he sure as Hel wasn’t going to let him do it posthumously. Going by what Eir had said though it would be a long while before he was well enough to leave and then he would have to work hard to get his previous physique and fighting prowess back. It would be a long, painful and at times frustrating journey he was sure, but it was infinitely better than staying as the Mad Titan’s ‘guest’!

He was pulled from his thoughts by a knock at the door to his room and it was the Head Healer who gave the invitation to enter. A young woman poked her head around the door, a silver goblet visible in her hand. She was obviously taken aback to find herself in the presence of the Allmother, though she could hardly have been ignorant of whose room she was entering.

“The Prince’s potion Head Healer.” The girl said quietly as she deposited the goblet in Eir’s outstretched hand.

“Thank you Thyra” said Eir gently “come in, I need to introduce you to your patient.”

Indicating Frigga first Eir said “Allmother, this is Healer Thyra, she is our best potion maker and as such I trust her implicitly with this duty.”

Frigga gave Thyra a kind smile “I have heard of your prowess, Healer Thyra the Prince is fortunate indeed to have someone so skilled attending him.”

Thyra blushed as she gave a deep curtsey “Thank you Allmother, I shall endeavour to do my best.”

Eir the indicated the bed and said “And this is Price Loki, I warn you now he hates taking potions so you may have to be strict with him, but ultimately he will do what is best for his recovery.” All this was said with a teasing smile on her face. Loki knew it was designed to put the Junior Healer at ease, he had a reputation for being cold and aloof that preceded him but honestly that demeanour was reserved for people that were not worth his time. This healer was only going to try and help him so he would be on his best behaviour for her.

“I would say it is a pleasure to meet you Healer Thyra but given the circumstances maybe that should be I am pleased to make your acquaintance.” He said charmingly, and even managed a small smile, though he was getting tired now and really wanted just to rest.

“I am pleased to be able to help My Prince” Thyra said as she curtsied once more before she left the room.

As Eir moved to Loki’s side with the goblet she told Frigga and Loki that Thyra would be the only other Healer to have contact with Loki, and then only if Eir was unavailable, Loki’s recovery was of paramount importance to the whole of Asgard, though he couldn’t see why and as such he would take priority unless it was a matter of life and death of course.

With Loki’s hands being incapacitated for the foreseeable future he had to resign himself to being fed. No one had given him a prognosis on when he might be able to use them again but he realised that he had only been awake a short while and the subject really hadn’t come up yet. The Head Healer held the goblet to his lips but let him dictate the pace of consumption. Never one for keeping treatment information from her patient Eir proceeded to explain the purpose of the potion.

“This potion will aid your recovery My Prince. Using data from the Soul Forge we have enhanced a general potion so that it not only provides all the nutrients you need without needing to be digested but will also enhance the replenishment of your seidr at a slightly quicker rate. Too much too soon can be detrimental as I am sure you remember!”

Loki did remember, more than once as a young boy he had exhausted his seidr reserves, too young to understand the consequences of constantly using it for the amusement of himself or, occasionally, others and had been brought to this very room to have a potion administered. The first time he’d been seidr deficient (and old enough to hide the fact from everyone) he’d scoured the library until he found the ingredients and instructions for the potion. He’d had to wait until the next time he was seidr deficient to try it of course because the irony of the potion was that it needed seidr to make it. He had kept the potion in his study and taken it when he next ran his reserves too low. It hadn’t had quite the effect he was looking for as he’d inadvertently overdosed himself. He’d felt a massive rush of warmth, almost a burning in what felt like every cell of his body which seemed to go on for far too long and had the consequence of him not being able to stand putting on clothes, the layers making him feel even hotter. He was still young enough that he was expected to join Odin, Frigga and Thor for at least the evening meal, though he often joined his mother for at least two of the day’s meals and so when he had not turned up for breakfast two days running and missed two evening meals as well she came to investigate. When he’d tearfully explained from behind his dressing screen because even underwear could not be tolerated in his state and his overflowing reserve could now not be trusted to maintain an illusion, Frigga had used her own magic to syphon off Loki’s excess and return his magic to equilibrium.

Once he was decently washed and dressed she proceeded to give him a telling off like none before. She banned him from the Library for a month even going so far as to put her own wards on it that repelled Loki even if he was walking past the door on the way to somewhere else and he’d had to have daily lessons with her in addition to the usual ones, solely focussed on what could happen to a Mage who overexerted their magic. It had been a sobering lesson that had been well and truly learnt. Loki had made sure never to deplete his magic so much again.

The current situation was cause by forces beyond his control though so obviously there was no condemnation from Frigga, just monumental concern. In contrast to the nearly burning heat brought on my Loki’s use of the potion all those years ago the warmth of this dose started spreading through his body as soon as it touched his gullet. He didn’t know exactly where the worst injuries were to his intestines so he supposed it made sense for the potion to start working long before it got anywhere delicate.

“You will have to take this potion three times a day My Prince” said Eir as the last dregs disappeared into Loki’s mouth “Think of it as meal replacement for now but when you can handle it you will move on to clear broths and light meals, stick with the regime and you will be back in the Feast Hall in no time.” She ended with a bright smile.

Privately Loki thought that was a good enough reason to sabotage his treatment, he didn’t enjoy feasts on a good day and he knew that his first few appearances there would be painfully difficult with him no doubt being the centre of attention and people wanting the story of what had happened to him. He was not looking forward to that in the slightest. By now he was utterly exhausted, it was slightly worrying that so little activity could cause him to feel so enervated but he hoped that a very few days of complete rest would have him feeling a little more energetic soon, even if he couldn’t channel that energy into physical movement. He could feel himself slipping into sleep and strove to stay awake a little longer to hear what Eir was saying

“The potion contains a mild sedative as well My Prince, it works better if the patient is completely at rest.”

Ah, that made sense, no point moving the bits that are meant to being fixed he thought languidly and the last thing he heard before he totally succumbed was his Mother.

“I will leave you to your rest my darling Loki, I will know when you wake and will be back then.” She laid a hand on his head and he felt the cooling balm of her seidr flow into him. “A spell to keep you safe, nothing more I promise.” She said lifting her hand “I will see you soon.” And she left his room.

He wanted to tell her not to go, that even with the spell he would feel safer if she was there but his mouth refused to work and he reached as best he could inside himself for the comfort the spell had left in her absence, feeling it wrap around him like a warm and gentle embrace.

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When he next awoke it was to his Mother sitting by his side though and he immediately felt better just for seeing her where she’s said she’d be. He could see through the window that night had fallen but he had no idea how long he had slept for and didn’t think he wanted to know. His sense of the passage of time was definitely ‘off’ somehow but he could also acknowledge that marking the passing of the hours when he was stuck in bed was not a pass time he would indulge in.

“Amma?” he said tentatively, just to let his Mother know he was awake.

“Yes? My Little Loki” she responded instantly “Do you need anything?”

“Some water would be nice please?” he said softly.

Frigga helped him sit up slightly then reached for the goblet that sat on the table by his bed holding it as before so that he could take tiny sips.

“Thank you” he said as she replaced the goblet “What time is it?”

“It is not too late,” she answered “a feast is in full swing; I ate and then came here as you woke.”

Loki was pleased that the Healing Halls were on the far side of the Palace from the Feast Hall, however much he disliked the place he did not want to be able to hear people enjoying themselves when he was confined to bed. Eir knocked on his door and entered then, a goblet in her hand and he knew it was time for his next dose of potion.

“Good evening Allmother, Prince Loki. It is time for your next dose My Prince. How are you feeling?”

Loki took stock of his whole body, starting with his senses which still seemed heightened and then moving to the more physical. He did actually feel a little better which he was surprised at. It wasn’t much but there was definitely some improvement though he couldn’t quantify where.

“I feel a little better, not much, but definitely a little better. My senses seem ‘enhanced’ somehow though?”

He did not miss they way his Mother’s and Eir’s faces fell at his words. It was Frigga that explained why.

“They are not enhanced my darling, they are back to normal. The place where you were kept was dark, dingy and filthy and silent for the most part. You were there in those conditions for so long that your senses adjusted to that as the new ‘normal’. Now you are back on Asgard and safe, they have to adjust again. Is it all too much for you?”

“It is..bearable” he said haltingly. Now that he had a reason it made sense, it had been a form of sensory deprivation, even more insidious because he hadn’t realised it had been happening. It was no wonder everything seemed ‘more’.

“Do let Eir or I know if it gets too much Loki, we can add shielding to your room if needs be.”

“I will Mother.” He said, and to his surprise he meant it. He was determined that his stay in this room would be a short as possible, that he would do everything in his power to make that happen but he was also aware of his limitations in a way he never had been before and realised that to ask for help was not always a bad thing, especially when he could trust the one he asked to keep it between the two of them.

He drank the proffered potion with help again and relaxed back on his pillows when he was done, waiting for the sedative effect to start working. It seemed to take a lot longer than it had earlier but then he didn’t feel so tired so he suspected that to be the reason.

“Asgard doesn’t know you are back.” His Mother said suddenly. “We are keeping it between ourselves for now; Eir and Thyra included of course. There is no way to spin them a story of you going on one of your travels, we have had a funeral for you after all so we will have to decide what we are going to tell them and how. One thing is for certain though, it will be the truth, no more lies and secrets whilst I have a say in things. Rest assured though my darling boy, no one will hold you to account for the actions you took whilst you were Regent, it was your prerogative to defend the Realm as you saw fit.”

“How long has it been here?” Loki asked “I mean it was an eternity for me, well it felt like it but really I have no idea.”

His mother replied “I has been a little over five sevendays for us, it felt like an eternity for me too you understand.”

“I do Mother” He smiled softly “and I do not think I have thanked you yet for coming to get me?”

“Hush Loki, you do not need to, it is what any mother would do for their child.” Frigga said, leaving Loki in no doubt that that particular thread of conversation was done with. He knew though, deep down that he could never repay the debt he owed his mother, she had tried to help him as best she could when he was a small child and continued to do so now, even when it was doubtful that the rest of the nobility of Asgard would see the duress he had been under as an excuse for whatever nefarious schemes they though he was up to now. It was also beyond doubt that his mother would continue to support him from now on, even if she had still to chide him on occasion.

Finally he felt the sedative aspect of the potion begin to work and whilst he was still lucid and not slurring his words he bade Frigga goodnight to which she responded that she would see him on the morrow. His last thought as he drifted off to sleep was although he was worried about what Asgard would think of him now, he was actually content to be hidden away here, he wasn’t exactly at his best in any case.

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Loki did decide that he needed to know why Eir had kept such a big thing as his heritage secret from him for so long so he plucked up his courage one day to ask her when he was in the Soul Forge. It would be a difficult conversation but one that definitely needed to be had, he started with the obvious.

“You must have known what I was when you treated me when I was young?”

“I did, My Prince.” The Head Healer answered carefully

“Then why did you never say anything?” Loki demanded “I could have known centuries ago and had time to come to terms with my heritage and maybe none of this would have happened!”

Eir sighed, and it sounded suspiciously like one of relief. “When your Mother and Father brought you to this Hall for the very first time, you had already shifted your shape into your Aesir form so I could not tell your heritage just by looking at you. The Allfather placed a geas on me, with my permission of course, that I would never ever speak of it to anyone outside the Royal Family and to them only if they brought the subject up first. I could not tell you My Prince because you did not know you had to ask. It did not interfere with me treating you though, I learnt a lot very quickly. And now, of course if you have any questions I am more than happy to answer to them for you, or find the answers if I do not know straight away. You might be surprised how much access the Head Healer of Asgard has to the libraries of the other Realms, and of course any knowledge gained therein is strictly confidential. I believe there were only five people in the Nine who knew who you really were. It is a great relief to me to be able to tell you at last.”

Loki took a moment to digest this information “I see, and I thank you for your candour. Is there anything I need to be aware of right away? Foods to avoid, random biological facts perhaps? It seemed a strange first question now that the truth could be spoken between them but it was the first thing that came into his mind.

Eir smiled softly “I do not believe so My Prince; there is no reason at all why anything physically should change just because you now know the truth, and you got this far just fine without knowing after all.”

Loki smiled back “That is true. I suspect I will be taking you up on your offer of information in the not too distant future though.”

“I would expect nothing less My Prince; you are a noted scholar after all. The chance to learn something new should never be overlooked, especially when it pertains to you personally. I shall leave you now, I am sure you have much to think on but you can still call on me at any time. I would not deny you that ever.”

Loki was pleased that Eir was still treating him with the same level of affection that she had always showed him, he was not totally ready to embrace his heritage quite yet, he knew the subject would come up at The Thing; it was practically unavoidable especially with his Mother being so adamant about no more secrets. But knowing what would happen and it happening were two completely different things, as he had discovered, painfully, recently. Maw and Thanos had taken great delight in describing the details of his tortures to him so that he always knew what was going to happen but the actuality of the deed was always so much worse than he had imagined. He could not deny that Eir was right though, objectively it was prudent to learn more about the Jotnar, other than what he had been told as a young boy, or observed for himself in the midst of battle, which was never a good place to learn anything except how to beat your opponent so that they did not get back up. There was also the question of his inherent magic, his time in the Healing Halls had given him space to contemplate how it had reacted to the proximity of The Casket of Ancient Winters and he had come to the realisation that he actually had two types of magic residing in him, his learnt magic which always glowed green when he used it and felt warm somehow inside him, and the other one, his inherited one which felt much colder when he reached for it and had a definite blue white tinge to it which he had noticed for the first time ever in the cell on Sanctuary when he made that desperate attempt to contact his Mother. It was, he mused, yet another thing to add to the list of subjects he needed to talk to his family about once he was free to do so. Honestly at this rate they would be talking for years!

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It was towards the end of his first sevenday of perpetual bed rest that Loki started chaffing at the restrictions placed on him. He was bored as he knew he would be, his hands had not yet healed enough for him to be able to hold a book but he could at least flex them in the seidr gloves he wore. Occasionally he could feel small bone fragments move back into place too, especially when they got close to regenerating nerves. Head Healer Eir seemed pleased with his progress though and was even talking about getting him to stand with his own stamina by the end of the next sevenday, meaning that he could potentially return to his own rooms and only have to be in the Healing Halls when he was due a session in the Soul Forge. She had already told him that even when he was released from her domain he would still be under tight restrictions as she was not having him undo all their hard work by being thoughtless, reckless or both. Loki, of course, had no intention of spending even more time confined to his bed so essentially Eir’s warning was unnecessary but he understood the sentiment behind it, Eir showed a tough exterior to the world, much like Loki himself, but underneath that she cared for all her patients the same no matter their age or rank. Loki was privately fairly convinced that she held a special affection for him though, probably because when he was younger and spent far too much time in this very room she had always made a little extra time for him, or so it seemed.

He had decided this particular day to see if he could use this affection to his benefit. When Eir arrived in his room with his morning dose of potion he took it without complaint, the warm feeling was spreading from lower down in his gullet now so he knew things were mending well in his digestive tract, if he had counted correctly he was due his last session in the Soul Forge for his intestines in two days’ time and then hopefully he would be able to eat again, even if it was only to be clear broth for now, it would taste better than the potion that was for sure.

“Lady Eir.” He said hesitantly “do you think you would be able to spare Healer Thyra for a couple of hours this afternoon?”

“Why, my Prince?” was the not unexpected response.

“I find myself lacking stimulation and wondered if she would be amenable to some conversation or maybe a game of Tafl?”

Eir smiled kindly at the young man, normally so full of life and vigour, now confined to bed. She knew Loki could while away hours doing nothing but reading so it was not an excess of energy that prompted the query but was actually just what he had stated, he needed to get his mind working again now and that was as important to his recovery as the physical aspect.

“I will ask her for you, My Prince, I am fairly sure she will be happy to help but I will not order her to.”

“I completely understand.” Loki responded “I am well aware of my reputation in the Court and would not want her to feel uncomfortable in my presence.”

“I do not think that will be an issue, My Prince, she seems to like you well enough, at least she has not indicated anything to the contrary when we have discussed your case in private.” Eir said

Loki blinked, momentarily taken aback that his Healers had discussed more than his recovery, but happy that he seemed to have made a favourable impression. “I thank you Lady Eir. I am most grateful for your help.”

“You are welcome My Prince. I will leave you in peace now and find Healer Thyra to pass on your request.” Eir answered and headed for the door.

The sedative portion of the potion had been scaled back as Loki’s insides healed so the need to sleep was not as insistent as it had been when he first started the treatment. He was happy in a way because it meant that he was definitely healing but also gave him more time to ruminate on just what he had endured and still would have to for the foreseeable future.

A tentative knock at his door roused him from his thoughts, as far as he could tell it wasn’t time for his next dose of potion so he wondered who could possibly want to see him.

“Come in.” he invited and to his surprise and delight Thyra poked her head around the door.

“You asked for me, My Prince?” she said “Head Healer Eir passed on your request but did not specify as to why.”

‘Ah’ thought Loki ‘that would explain the confusion’

“I did ask for you.” He said out loud “I wondered if you could bear to keep me company and maybe play some Tafl? I find myself very bored and in need of intellectual stimulation.”

“Oh, I am sorry My Prince, my brothers gave up trying to teach me Tafl years ago, I have no head for strategy and so it would be a very one sided contest and not what you require at all” Thyra said apologetically.

“I appreciate your honesty Lady Thyra.” Loki said gently, trying not to let his disappointment show. “Tell me, what do you do when you want to exercise your brain?”

Thyra’s eyes lit up “I read My Prince, I find it most enjoyable.”

Loki smiled; Thyra was a bookworm just like him. “I like reading too.” he said softly “but with my hands in their current state holding a book is beyond me.”

“I could read to you My Prince, if you would like?” the healer said hesitantly “I have a book of Midgardian Fairy Tales that I am enjoying very much at the moment.”

“Midgardian Fairy Tales?” the bedridden prince echoed “Where did you get a copy of that?”

“The Palace Library” came the swift response “Did you know that the Midgardians have stories about us Aesir? Specifically about you, your family and some of the upper echelons of the Court?”

Loki smiled widely “I did, I might have had a rather large hand in spreading them when I was younger, Midgardians are so gullible, and I do have a reputation for Mischief to uphold after all, it being part of my godhead.”

Thyra smiled, Loki’s penchant for mischief was well known throughout the whole Realm though it was always better to observe than to be the Dark Prince’s focus. “Shall I go and get the book, My Prince? It is only in my room here in the Halls, I should only be a couple of minutes.”

Loki considered her offer; discussion of Midgardian Fairy Tales could indeed be the diversion he craved. “If you would be so kind, I would appreciate it.” He said quietly and then added “and Healer Thyra? I think we can dispense with the full formalities for now. You can use just my name if you want; or Prince Loki if you prefer?”

“Thank you …Loki” she said shyly, “I, of course extend the same courtesy to you.”

“Thank you Thyra, we had better uphold protocol when we are not alone though, I would not want you to be tarnished with my reputation by association.” Was Loki’s response.

“Agreed Loki, I shall go and retrieve the book.”

As Thyra slipped out of his room he reflected on the conversation he’d just had. It would be nice to have a friend of his own he thought; he had so few before his fall and probably had even less now. There was no romance in the air, of that he was sure but a platonic relationship could not possibly be frowned upon, could it?

Thyra was soon back and quickly drew up a chair to the side of Loki’s bed to get herself comfortable for reading. She started to read and Loki was pleased that she had a nice reading voice, she read well too putting inflection in just the right place and he soon found himself visualising the scenes so beautifully painted for him. When the story was finished the ensuing discussion between himself and the healer turned out to be just what he needed to get his brain thinking again and he was able to come up with some really good arguments for his thoughts, all in all he thought afterwards it was a very satisfying exercise and he made sure to ask Eir if she could spare Thyra some more before he was hopefully discharged from the Halls. He definitely intended to cultivate the nascent friendship with the intelligent young woman as much as she would allow of course. He was well aware that his family had given him a second chance at life and he was determined to make the most of it and to repay their trust in him to become the man they thought he could be instead of the bitter and twisted creature that let go on the Bifrost.

It turned out that Thyra was more than happy to be his friend and spent as much time with him in the last sevenday of his ‘confinement’ as she could. He had been correct in his initial assessment of her intelligence and they had enjoyed a couple of lively conversations that were not just restricted to the fairy tales that she still read to him occasionally. He even allowed her to feed him the first bowl of clear broth he was given whereas before he would have struggled to do it himself even with the seidr gloves on his hands, they were due to be removed the day he left the Halls for his rooms but his gut had healed quicker than his hands had hence the need to be fed.

His next big step was The Thing that was scheduled for two days after his discharge from the room he currently occupied. He was conflicted about The Thing, on the one hand it would mean that after it was over the House of Odin could all be in the same room at the same time again and points of contention could be aired and resolved (hopefully) because as soon as the intention to call The Thing had been announced it was prohibited for the Appellant, Loki in this case, to discuss any aspect of his testimony with his Advocates who would be Odin, Frigga and Thor. And as his testimony would consist of his reasoning behind his actions from Thor’s aborted Coronation onwards, it meant that topics of discussion with his family on their visits, and they had all made regular visits in the two sevendays he had been here, had by necessity been limited to how his healing was going, which although important, was hardly the things he wanted to discuss with them. He was grateful that they had all made the effort, even Odin had been twice each sevenday to check on his son, and Thor even seemed to have discovered his indoor voice at last.

Getting back to his rooms had to be the highlight so far though, not including waking up in his private room and realising he was back on Asgard and safe from Thanos and Ebony Maw at last. It said much for Loki’s state though that getting back to his room required more than a little assistance from his big brother as Loki still wasn’t quite strong enough at walking again to make the journey on his own. He had been practicing quietly standing for extended periods of time, and once he locked his knees he was fine but walking distances was a skill yet to be rediscovered, then he realised he would only have two days to overcome this issue as he would have to walk unaided to the Common Field where The Thing would be convened.

Loki had insisted on returning to his room in the dead of night, keen to avoid as much as possible the chance of running into anyone on the journey across the Palace, his pride still insisting that no one should see him at less than full strength. It had taken a great deal of courage to ask Thor for help and to his credit his normally dense brother had not used it as a chance to mock Loki for needing help in the first place, and simply lent his physique for Loki to lean on as they made their slow was through the dimly lit corridors. Loki was exhausted by the time they reached the doors to his suite and for the first time on the trek he had a strong feeling of trepidation, would his rooms have been left as they were the day he fell, or would one of his servants done a final tidy up for him so it would look like he had never been away, he didn’t know which version he wanted, both worried him greatly, if it looked exactly the same then would he feel like the past however long it had been for him was merely a dream and so should be dismissed as such? If it had been tidied it would be easier to feel he had been away for a length of time but then would there be changes to mark the fact that as far as Asgard was concerned at the time he was dead and never coming back?

Thinking about it, the second option seemed slightly the better, what a good bit of mischief it would be to come back from the dead. Anyway they were here now and having worked so hard to be discharged from the Healing Halls he wasn’t going to retreat back there now like a coward. His touch opened the doors and the wall sconces automatically lit, illuminating the room with a soft glow. He smiled at the feel of his magic washing over him, pleased that his spells still worked. Thor remained by his side, feeling more of his brother’s weight as Loki sagged in relief at being back in his personal sanctum, the latest step in his recovery. So far it seemed to be going well Thor thought, though he had never really realised how far their wing of the palace was from the Healing wing. His own rooms were just across the corridor from Loki’s, the brothers far too old now to share a room but they had been insistent that they should at least share a wing of the large palace when they had been forced to separate.

“Bed, brother?” Thor asked Loki gently as they crossed the threshold and the doors shut behind them with no physical interference.

“Please” Loki said quietly, for all of their recent animosity Thor was one of the very few that Loki would allow to see him this weak and vulnerable.

Thor helped him across his receiving room towards his bedroom, again the door opened at Loki’s touch but this time Loki stopped in the doorway and took in a sight he’d thought he’d never see again. His bed had been made and the books tidied into a pile but that was about it for the changes that had been made. He was immediately grateful that someone had been in to square things away, realising that if it had been left as it was it would be harder to come to terms with his experiences. His bed looked like the most comfortable thing he had ever seen and he disentangled himself from his brother to make his slow way over. As he got closer he noticed something resting on his pillow, something he definitely did not recognise, though the form was familiar. As he got closer he confirmed to himself that it was a knife roll but it was not one of his. Glad his hands were finally his own again he grasped the tie of the roll and pulled gently, the supple leather unfurled revealing the green silk lining in his signature shade. Inserted in the integral pockets were, a set of six matched throwing knives. He reverently pulled one out to admire it. It was beautifully slim and deadly, the blade etched with his symbol of a pair of entwined snakes in black. The handle was wrapped in green leather with an image of his helm engraved between the leather and the golden pommel. They were exquisite and he looked forward to seeing how they performed. The whole roll held the hint of his Mother’s seidr and he knew that she had commissioned them for him and him alone, the thought touched him more than he would admit to.

Thor gave him privacy to change into his bedclothes from the green tunic and soft trousers he had worn for the walk which took longer than Loki had hoped due to his lack of dexterity and then made sure that he had everything he could want within easy reach before leaving him to settle into his own bed for the first time in who knew how long.

“I will send word to the kitchens for breakfast to be served in my rooms Brother, something light for you of course.” Thor said as he prepared to leave. “Mother and Father will understand that you need time to adjust and anyway we should not all be in the same room until after The Thing, and this way you will not have to encounter the servants before you are ready. Shall I bring it in here when it arrives?”

Loki started at his brother in shock; he was being remarkably thoughtful for someone who not so long ago was so full of his own importance and whose arrogance preceded him into a room. What had happened to him in the short time, as far as Asgard was concerned, that Loki hadn’t been here? This had been brought on by more than his three days of banishment to Midgard that was for sure.

“If you please Brother. That is most considerate of you.” Loki responded even as he stifled a yawn. He was so tired that all he wanted to do now was sleep “but not too early if you don’t mind?”

“Never fear Loki, I need my sleep as well tonight. I wish you a pleasant rest, brother and will see you on the morrow.”

“On the morrow, brother” Loki agreed and settled down to sleep in his own bed at long last.


	3. Recognition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki and his family face the people of the Realm.

The House of Odin had decided that the best way to deal with everything that had happened was to convene a gathering of The Thing. The Thing was the second most influential body in Asgard coming only below the twelve members of The Kings Council but had the advantage of also including members of the general populace. This meant that the common people would find out what they needed to without it being filtered through the nobility whom, Odin had to admit, couldn't be trusted to paint a true picture of what had befallen Loki as not many of them held him in high regard.

The Thing had been called to be held as soon as Loki was well enough to stand and speak for a considerable length of time, as Appellant it would be for him to do most of the talking, answering the questions of the Leader whilst standing in a rune circle that would cage him in light for all to see if it thought he wasn't telling the truth as he perceived it. It wasn't a trial as such, the only possible outcome was a personal rejection or acceptance of what the Appellant said and no punishment was meted out, but it was important for Asgard as a whole to find out the actions that had led to the destruction of the Bifrost and the truth of Loki's heritage.

It would be a big ask for Loki, he knew that his actions whilst Regent were justified simply because he was Regent at the time and so had the full backing of the Crown but he also felt the immense pressure of potentially having to show his Jotunn self, and whilst it was true that any attack on his person during The Thing would carry the appropriate punishment for any attackers it didn't necessarily mean that Loki was comfortable doing it. Odin, Frigga and Thor had all assured him separately, and on numerous occasions in the case of Thor, that it didn't matter that he was Jotun, he was their family and that was beyond question. He had to admit it helped a little bit but Asgard as a whole, and the warrior class in particular, were a constant worry in the back of his mind. Still it couldn't be helped, he had had enough of not knowing why he was so different and the only way not to hide it anymore (because hiding it was what had led to all the problems in the first place) was to face The Thing and get it over and done with. He would at least be able to call on the moral support of his family as they all held the role of Advocate for him, they would also tell their version of events as they believed them to be true to corroborate or not Loki's own story.

The day finally arrived, it actually coincided with Loki being able to eat more than clear broth for meals and the return to full function of his digestive system which, although not a subject for polite conversation, was a source of immense relief as there was always a feast after The Thing and it would look odd indeed if the Appellant did not eat at their own feast. Loki bathed and dressed carefully, not in his battle armour but in his second best court clothes which admittedly didn't look too different being the same combination of colours; he teamed black leather trousers with a black and green leather long line jerkin with gold tool work on the edges and hem. Under the jerkin he wore a green silk shirt in his signature shade with plenty of gold embroidery at cuffs and collar which, as was his preference, was stiffened so that it stood upright against his neck. Once he was satisfied with his clothes a quick pass of his hands over his hair tamed his gentle waves into their usual sleek style and he carefully placed his coronet on his brow. He was rather proud of his coronet, Thor had gifted it to him the Yule after he'd earned his battle armour and it reflected his helm without being quite as unwieldy inside. It was gold, of course and even had his horns rising from the browband and sweeping back over his head just at a shallower angle for practicalities sake. A flick of his wrist magically attached his cloak to his shoulders and he was ready.

A contingent of Einherjar had been detailed to escort him to the Common Field on the outskirts of the city which always served as the meeting place for The Thing; Thor was tasked with making sure the day was always dry so rain was never an issue. The Field was used because it was more than big enough to accommodate all the Members of The Thing, and all the curious who would inevitably attend and also to prove that this was the judgement of the people and not the Crown it being common land belonging to no-one hence the name. As he entered the field he could see a low stage had been erected, no doubt under the direction of the seidmenn and seidkonur that would construct the rune circle that would show any lies. Closer inspection, though no touching of course - impartiality had to be maintained, showed that the stage supports were driven firmly into the soil essentially connecting the rune circle with the fabric of Asgard itself so that Asgard could show, if it so deigned, what it thought of his worth too. It bothered him now less than he had thought it would in the beginning, his story was clear in his mind and he had _felt_ the Realm Eternal accept him as Regent when he'd been handed Gungnir after his father fell into his Sleep. Loki was escorted to an area behind the stage to await his moment.

He could see other contingents of soldiers heading his way, no doubt escorting his Father, Mother and Brother. They would not be allowed to converse with each other until after the proceedings and had refrained as much as possible from talking about what had happened before hand. It was important that there was no corroboration or coercion between Appellant and Advocates. In fact, apart from when the House of Odin had delivered Loki to the Healing Hall and the expert care of Eir, which Loki was still thankful he'd been unconscious for, this was the first time the family had been together on Asgard since the aborted Coronation. The family did manage to lock eyes with each other and send small smiles of support to Loki, even Odin did, much to his surprise and he wondered just how much his mother had brow beaten his father into agreeing to this.

The frankly huge crowd was beginning to form, no one but the Members of The Thing knew why it had been called so there were many curious folk, nobles, warriors and commoners who were interested in the proceedings. The stage was large enough to hold all the Members and the rune circle, the rest of the crowd were forced to mingle together, no special seating was allowed for anyone, you wanted to rest you sat on the grass. Loki privately thought it was a good thing for the nobles to experience a bit of discomfort now and again, it reminded them of what the citizens had to endure every day for all was not equal in the Golden Realm, even if people turned a blind eye, Loki hadn't. The reason he was so beloved by the general population was because he went out of his way to make life better for them when he could. He had deep pockets and long arms and liked nothing more when he was released from his princely duties to ride his stallion to various towns to help with his magic, or his coin where he could. He also wasn't above looking after a gaggle of boisterous children to give their mothers some peace, entertaining them with child friendly versions of the most important sagas compete with magical illustrations. In return the people gave him their hearts which he treasured; it made him feel a little better when he could call on pleasant memories after a hard day full of scorn from others.

Loki's mind was brought back to the present when the Leader of The Thing, dressed in his ceremonial robes stood at the front of the stage to start proceedings.

"We are assembled here to ascertain the facts as to the narrative of the events surrounding the destruction of the Bifrost, the loss of the Second Prince, Loki, and his subsequent return. I do not need to remind you that this is not a criminal trial and as such no official verdict will be put against anyone's name who may be involved. This is purely so that we as a Realm will all have access to the same story as the whole thing will be transcribed and a copy sent to every town, village and hamlet in our borders for which I thank the seidmenn and seidkonur in advance. Prince Loki would you step up please?"

All eyes turned to the youngest Prince as he took a deep breath and stepped confidently into the stage, but not yet into the rune circle. The Leader gave a small bow and Loki inclined his head in acknowledgement.

“Thank you my prince, now if you could just step into the circle?"

Loki then noticed a goblet of water on a table in the circle and he made a mental note to find who was responsible for that and thank them later, he was in no doubt that he would welcome it's coolness as he knew he'd be doing a lot of talking today. He stepped smoothly into the circle making sure to let no worry show on his face as he felt the power of the makers and of Asgard itself waiting to be unleashed. At a word from a seidkona the runes started to glow and for the benefit of the people who could not see the circle proper the Leader proclaimed

“The rune circle has been activated, for those who do not know the runes will flare into harmless pillars of light if the Appellant, or Advocates when it is their turn, gives an answer they know to be false based on their perception of events. A simple question to give an example. Turning to Loki he said "You are Prince Loki of Asgard, second born son of Odin Allfather, King of Asgard and his wife Frigga Allmother, and brother to Thor the Crown Prince?"

Loki worked hard to hide his smirk; he might actually get some enjoyment out of this after all, though as an example question it really wasn't going to work. Ah well what was that Midgardian saying? Oh yes 'in for a penny, in for a pound.’

"No I am not" he said clearly, his words magically enhanced as the Leaders were so all could hear, and the runes still glowed gently.

The Leader was staggered, this wasn't supposed to happen.

"Who are you then?" He asked tentatively now.

“I have been told by Odin himself that I am the son of Laufey, late King of Jotunheim" Loki replied and the runes still glowed.

The Leader was now a little more than worried, was this what this whole Thing was about really? The truth of the second Prince's heritage? Whatever, he had to find a question quickly that Loki could answer so that the runes would react to prove that the spell was working. He tried again

"Are you female then?"

Loki took pity on him, the temptation to say 'sometimes' was strong because of all the times he'd shifted into a female form for one prank or another but he understood the need for the spell to react, to prove that this was a genuine use of the Thing so he said clearly.

"Yes!"

Immediately the runes flared brightly and formed the pillars that could be seen from the back of the huge crowd. The reaction from the crowd was also immediate, it seemed that until the third question they had been under the assumption that the rune circle was faulty somehow but now they realised it wasn't and the implications of the first two answers were beginning to resonate. Loki could hear the whispers of those closest to the stage of course

"Always knew there was something wrong with him"

"A Jotun! And he got to rule us during the Odinsleep! What was the Allfather thinking?"

Loki tried to tune these out; he'd heard variations all his life anyway, what difference would a few more make? Until he clearly heard from a young baker from one of the outlying villages who made the second best sweetberry tartlets in Asgard and so whose shop he frequented when he was in the area.

"Well I do not care where he came from, he has always be good to me when we have met and he has been brought up in our traditions, he is as Asgardian as the Allmother!" This was followed by a couple of shouts of "True!" and "That is what I think!" and suddenly he was fighting back tears. It would never do to show such emotions on this stage of all places but he couldn't deny that the words of support had touched him deeply and made him feel a little stronger for what was to come next.

As he and the Leader recovered their equilibrium the noise in the crowd died down, the populace realising that they need to be quiet to hear what their Second Prince had to say, even magically enhanced voices could not rise above the volume of such a crowd.

“Prince Loki could you please tell us, in your own words what happened from the aborted coronation onwards?” Said the Leader.

Loki was ready for this, part of the point of The Thing was that, because everyone on the stage was required to stand for the whole event, and in order not to lose the attention of all listening it was important to be concise. This Loki could do standing on his head of course; his moniker of Silvertongue was given to him, in part, because of his ability to use his considerable vocabulary to his advantage. He also knew that using long and archaic words would not endear him to some, and cause others to lose the point of what he was trying to say.

Taking a sip of water, and a deep breath he started, detailing his thought processes as to the suitability of Thor to become King and outlining where he thought his deficiencies were. Loki couldn’t see his brother from where he was but those that could were surprised to see the Thunderer nodding in apparent agreement as his sibling enumerated his failings at the time. From there Loki described his deal with the Jotnar saying he only chose them because they were the obvious enemy of Asgard and not because he was one, as he didn’t know he was at the time. All this time the runes stayed softly glowing, not a tell-tale pillar in sight.

Loki then spoke about the disastrous trip to Jotunheim and his discovery that his skin didn’t get frozen when he was touched as he thought it would. He tried to describe the maelstrom of his thoughts in the time after but it was so difficult, even now, to put it into words his sheer disbelief and yet the knowledge, deep down that this must be the reason he’d felt so different all his life. From there it was straight to Thor’s banishment and the shock of seeing that happen.

Then it was the clandestine trip to the Vault and finally getting the proof of what he’d suspected on Jotunheim and then his confrontation with Odin which had ended with the King falling into his Sleep, leaving him with not only more questions and no one to give him answers but the Regency of the Realm and Gungnir in his hands. He told the assembly that he had felt the power of the Realm flowing through him as he accepted the symbol of Kingship and how he’d been able to see everything when he sat on Hlidskjalf, how the Lady Sif and The Warriors Three had practically demanded that he brought Thor back to Asgard as obviously Thor should be the one in charge and how they had retired in bad grace when he had refused. He left their part in it there, this was his story not theirs and it was not for him to accuse them of anything in this scenario.

He tried to explain how he felt at this juncture, how his thoughts were a chaotic whirlwind, not being able to settle on anything for more than a second and how in his confusion and madness he reasoned that the only way he’d survive this was to kill Thor on Midgard and destroy Jotunheim for good. He also detailed how he’d wanted to get into Odin’s good graces and decided that the way to do that was to kill his biological father while he was at it so proving he was for Asgard even though he was Jotun. How when killing Laufey in Odin’s Sleeping chamber he had felt nothing but relief that something had actually worked for out for him for a change until Thor had returned and Loki had tried to obliterate the planet of his birth with its greatest treasure that he’d secreted in his dimensional pocket. Then the fight on the Bifrost between the brothers and how Thor had destroyed the bridge so that Jotunheim would be saved. And finally, the bit he was dreading the most in this part of the story, the bit he didn’t know if Odin and Frigga knew yet, the fact that he had let go when Odin had denied him once again. It was a shameful way to die for a warrior and would have guaranteed that he would have been barred from Valhalla for eternity if he had actually died. The shock of this revelation reverberated through the crowd, he could see the ones who felt sympathy for him due to the circumstances he found himself in, and also the ire of those who thought it would have been better if he’d never returned.

Ignoring the crowd again he continued, he was in the final stretch now, glossing over his various torments at the hands of Thanos and Ebony Maw whilst still saying enough to convey the torments he was subjected to. It was enough for his audience to know that he had not been intending to be their ally and he also was very aware that there were young children present, some of whom he had known quite well before his fall. He did not want them to know the full details of what had befallen him. The runes still glowed gently; the only flare so far had been when he had said he was female so all could see that the circle was working as designed. He then covered his rescue by his family and the demise of his tormentors at his own hand. Finally finished he took a long draught of the water provided for him and it was a cool and refreshing now as it had been for every sip he’d taken.

The Leader stepped up then “Thank you Prince Loki, just one more thing if you would indulge us?”

Loki knew what was coming and he was still dreading it if he was totally honest

“Yes?” he said quietly

“Would you mind showing us your Jotun form?” The Leader asked

“No, I do not mind.” he said automatically and the rune pillars flared again. Loki sighed “But I will try anyway.” He wasn’t honestly sure if he could change, the only times he has seen his blue skin he had either been on Jotunheim or holding the Casket of Ancient Winters. Here on the Common Field he wasn’t so sure. He caught the eye of his Mother who gave him an encouraging smile and his Father who, to his further surprise gave him a nod of his head. Loki reached deep inside himself to where his seidr normally was to be found, it was still there of course but he still didn’t have quite as large a pool to pull from as he would like. He ignored the green mist for now and went in search of the strange untamed magic he had felt on Sanctuary, the swirling blue and white vortex that he still hadn’t explored fully but there was plenty of time for that after this had all been finally dealt with.

To his relief this strange magic still felt somewhat biddable and he gingerly reached out to embrace it. He immediately felt the coolness of this strange magic wash over him at exactly the same time as he suddenly felt unbearably hot. A quick glance at his hand confirmed the change had taken place, not that it was strictly necessary as the shocked response from the assembled audience told him it had worked too.

The crowd reacted, some with pity, which he didn’t really want but he appreciated the sentiment, some with apathy which was expected and some with anger which was also expected. What wasn’t expected though was when the first missile came his way, a piece of fruit he thought. Everyone on the stage flinched as the object came towards them, Loki included but all were astonished when it did not hit its target but instead seemed to disintegrate into nothing mid-air accompanied by a small and very colourful light show. Loki felt the tingle of a different but familiar power as another projectile failed to reach the stage, disappearing in exactly the same way. The Einherjar were soon in the midst of the crowd, trying to restore order and apprehend the perpetrators without causing harm to innocent bystanders. The rules of The Thing were well known throughout the Realm. Attacks on the Appellant, Advocates or Members were forbidden and dealt with to the full extent of the Law. That the intended target was a Prince of the Realm just made the transgression worse.

Loki used the distraction to let go of his Jotun form and reached out tentatively with his seidr; he still wasn’t at full strength but had enough to probe gently at the area where the fruit had disintegrated to nothing. He encountered an invisible barrier and where his seidr touched it it coruscated with flashes of every colour which reminded him of The Bifrost, he smiled delightedly as the foreign magic reached back to him with a tickle. The seidkona who had activated the rune circle came up to him.

“What do you think it is My Prince?” she asked

“I do not know” replied Loki quietly “though it is fascinating. I have never seen anything like it.”

“Not many have My Prince, and fewer have survived to tell.”

“You know what it is” said Loki, still transfixed by the shimmering light show.

“I do, My Prince, and as it is here for your benefit I will tell you. You are looking at a physical manifestation of the magic of Asgard; the Realm itself is protecting you from harm, though why it has chosen to act this way is unclear at the moment.”

“The Realm?” he echoed incredulously.

“Yes, My Prince, Asgard itself wishes no harm to come to you today. I would love to study it but I do not suppose you are willing to subject yourself to a barrage of rotten fruit to enable it?”

“It is not high on my list of priorities, no” Loki responded dryly earning himself a small smile from the seidkona.

The Leader had managed to restore order to the assembly and Loki’s testimony being over he stepped out of the rune circle but not off the stage, another facet of The Thing was the importance of being able to see the Appellant’s reactions to what the Advocates said. He was mentally and physically exhausted, retelling his story had taken its toll and he still had to get through the testimonies of his Father, Mother and Brother. To his surprise Eir was there with a goblet full of a sweet smelling liquid.

“It is a restorative potion My Prince, much weaker than the ones Thyra made for you, but it will replenish your energy and help you through the rest of the day.

“Thank you Lady Eir" Loki said gratefully and took down the potion in two large gulps. It tasted as sweet as it smelt and he suddenly wished he'd taken a bit more time to savour the flavours; sweet things had not been a part of his menu for far too long in his opinion, a situation he was planning to rectify as soon as possible. He locked his knees again and drew himself to his full height; ready to listen to the man he had called Father but most called King.

Odin stepped calmly into the rune circle which had been deactivated to let Loki exit and waited patiently for it to be activated. The same seidkona performed the task and Odin thanked her with a nod of his head. The Leader, who was still trying to come to terms with all he had heard and witnessed already today looked a little nervous at being so close to the monarch even though he held more power over Odin in this place at this time than anyone else on the Realm.

"He started his questions as he had with the Second Prince. “You are Odin Borson, King of Asgard and Allfather to the Nine Realms?"

"I am" said Odin clear and strong,

"And are you the biological father of Loki, Second Prince of Asgard?"

"I am not, but I regard him as my son in every way that matters"

On hearing these words Loki paid close attention to the runes, but they remained glowing steadily as they had done throughout his testimony. He had to admit he was more than a little shocked by that, as far as he was concerned it has been centuries since he had felt like Odin's son and had thought the feeling mutual but it seemed he was mistaken.

The Leader continued "would you tell us, my Liege, the circumstances surrounding Prince Loki's arrival on Asgard?"

"I will" Odin replied. He, very pointedly, took a sip from the same goblet that Loki had drunk from, even though a more ornate one had been placed on the table for him and started to speak about the last days of the war against Jotunheim, which had ended with the confiscation of The Casket of Ancient Winters, the source of Jotunheim's power that Odin himself had found in a temple after he had accepted the surrender of Laufey-King, ruler of that frozen Realm. For the first time ever, Odin found himself recounting how he had heard a small sound as he took the Casket from the pedestal, a sound very familiar to him as a parent himself. He had hurried back to the camp to secure his prize and then begged solitude from his generals and advisors claiming he needed to contemplate on his own just what he had achieved. He had headed back to the now deserted temple and searched for the source of the noise not really expecting to find it, well not alive anyway, for he had heard the unmistakable sound of a baby whimpering and there could be no way it could have survived the ransacking of the temple. By some miracle it had though and he told with fondness in his tone how he had found the tiny babe lying in a bundle of cloths behind the altar in the temple, how the baby had smiled up at him when Odin picked it up and immediately shapeshifted from the blue of a Jotun to the familiar shade of the Aesir. Before the baby had changed he had recognised the familiar lineage markings of Laufey’s house on the child and knew he held one of Laufey’s get in his hands though it seemed small for a giant’s offspring. He had considered briefly leaving the babe to its fate but then reconsidered as the child had smiled at him once more. He had picked up the child and taken him to the comparative warmth of his tent with orders for him not to be disturbed. The child had been quiet all night thankfully and Odin had managed to smuggle the child into Asgard and to Frigga with only Heimdall and Tyr, his most trusted General being any the wiser.

Loki listened to all this astounded, Odin really had done it, he had gotten Loki into Asgard with a mere handful of people knowing the baby’s origins, and according to Odin’s testimony thus far Loki had stayed in his Aesir form throughout.

Odin then told of how he had introduced Loki to Frigga and his Queen had insisted that they take the babe, and Odin to the Healers as Odin’s victory had also cost him an eye, and so Eir became the last person to know of Loki’s origins. Odin went on to tell how he had always intended to treat the boys the same as they were so close in age but something prevented him, especially as Loki grew older, on carrying out his intentions and so Loki suffered his father’s indifference for far too long leading to everything that Loki had already detailed. Odin also confirmed the rumour that he could still see and hear what happened in the Realm when he was in his Sleep when he was scathing in his contempt for the Lady Sif and the Warriors Three who had completely disregarded Loki’s authority as Regent because they though he must have usurped the Throne somehow and therefore conspired to bring back Thor from his banishment, though Odin was still unsure as to what they thought it would accomplish.

Loki was pleased that Odin had made that clear as he was sure that The Idiots Four were not alone in their assumption that Thor should have been allowed to return to Asgard whether he had regained the use of Mjolnir or not.

Odin then told of his panic as he registered Thor and Loki fighting on the Bifrost desperately rousing himself from his Sleep to try and save them both and how he had failed at the last second to stop Loki from falling. He then told of his distress and fear of telling Frigga what had happened and how it had been with a heavy heart that he had sent the news of Loki’s demise to the whole Realm and beyond. When the rune circle didn’t react in any way Loki had to conclude that Odin at least thought he was telling the truth.

Frigga was next and she told how she had loved Loki as her own from the moment Odin had put him in her arms and had always tried treat her boys the same, the runes flared then and Frigga admitted that once it became obvious that Loki was suffering from being different, through no fault of his own, that Frigga had favoured her younger son, trying to teach him ways to circumvent the prejudices that he would encounter for the rest of his life. She told how with Thor banished and Odin in his Sleep she was the one to recommend Loki as Regent and how she had feared for Odin’s life when Laufey had appeared in the chamber where Odin was sleeping only to have Loki kill him with Gungnir and how she had known that Loki had just killed his biological father and couldn’t say anything to comfort him as Thor had returned at that moment and how it had all spiralled out of control from thereon out.

She cried when she remembered how Odin had broken the terrible news of Loki’s fall and loss and how, many days later, she had received a message from Loki in his captivity and had mounted the rescue mission that had culminated in the deaths of his torturers and subsequent return to Asgard and the start of his recovery.

Finally Thor was called to the stage, Loki was pleased that so far the testimonies all lined up and just hoped that Thor would continue the trend.

Thor started with the aborted Coronation and how Loki was completely correct in his assessment of Thor’s readiness to be King. Thor explained that he had had plenty of time to think in the time between Loki’s fall and rescue and had come to the conclusion that he had not been the best brother possible to Loki whilst they were growing up and he had been swayed by the opinions of The Lady Sif and The Warriors Three in regards to Loki. Thor could acknowledge now that all the times Loki had stated that those four warriors had never been his friends he had been right, Sif, Hogun, Volstagg and Fandral had always been Thor’s friends first and foremost and he wasn’t even sure, if he was honest, that they were his friends of were just after the prestige of being friends with the Crown Prince.

Thor told the story of the ill-fated trip to Jotunheim how he was determined to discover how they had gained access to the Realm Eternal and how one very small insulting word that he should have let go over his head had caused the beginning of a war that neither Realm could have really sustained. He admitted that his Father had banished him to Midgard because of it and how he was so sure of his right to Mjolnir that that had been all he had been focussed on until the Destroyer had appeared in the little town and he had regained his powers by sacrificing himself to it. His return to Asgard and battle with his brother on the Bifrost, neither of them having even thought to stop and try to explain what had happened.

Thor confirmed that Loki had deliberately let go and Gungnir had not slipped out of his grasp which elicited gasps of horror from some of the women in the crowd. How Thor had hidden himself away, not interacting with anyone bar absolute necessity until Frigga had appeared in his room at the start of the rescue mission. He spoke in an awed voice of the mission itself, how Loki had killed the two main architects of his misery, one with Mjolnir who had flown gently into Loki’s hand to end Ebony Maw and how Loki had called on his Jotun powers to kill the Mad Titan and so potentially save the entire Universe.

Loki was touched by the words of his family and started to believe that he might actually have a chance at a proper family again, though there was still many subjects that they would have to go through in private, he hoped they would be able to work through them and come together again, he had missed the closeness with Thor if nothing else. With all who were due to speak having done so The Thing was officially over. The Leader stood at the front of the stage to address the crowd once more.

“You have all heard the testimonies presented” he started “and witnessed the unprecedented intervention of Asgard itself. You are all free to make your own decision about the voracity of Prince Loki’s story and your peers will be too as soon as they get the transcript of today’s proceedings. I thank you for your attention and patience today and wish you safe travel back to your abodes.”

Odin them stepped forward and spoke quietly in the Leader’s ear causing him to nod and step out of the way. Odin beckoned his family onto the stage with him. Loki had no idea what was going on now but years of obedience ingrained into him had him doing Odin’s bidding.

Odin stood in the middles of the stage and Frigga, with a warm smile to Loki, took her position on her King’s left. In a break with protocol Odin indicated to Loki that he should stand on Odin’s right, a position that Thor should have occupied. The brothers exchanged a look and Thor just shrugged and took his place beside Loki so the Second Prince was sandwiched between the King and The Crown Prince.

Odin knocked Gungnir on the stage just once and the resulting reverberation silenced the chattering crowds. Once there was complete quiet Odin spoke

“I thank the Members of The Thing for their courtesy today and hope that you, the people of Asgard will contemplate what you have heard here today and come to the appropriate conclusion. Many years ago I took the Prince Loki from Jotunheim and made him a member of my family in great secrecy, which was a mistake, one of many I have made regarding my son, that I intend to correct today.” He reached out his hand to rest on Loki’s shoulder “This is Loki Odinson, Second Prince of Asgard and Prince of Jotunheim too. I would have the whole Realm know that he is my son and I am so very proud of him. Any disrespect of his personage is one on the crown of this Realm too and shall be dealt with accordingly.” Another knock of Gungnir on the stage sealed the decree and it was only then that Loki noticed that Odin had been standing in the rune circle and that it had been activated. The runes had not flared and so all could see the truth of Odin’s proclamation. Loki was pleased he had thought to lock his knees again for they would have surely buckled at the shock of Odin’s words. As it was he still had to find the wherewithal to get through the trip back to the Palace and the feast that evening, this day had definitely been a test of his endurance, he really couldn’t wait until things were back to normal again.

Odin’s pronouncement signalled the end of The Thing and the crowd quickly started to disperse. The Einherjar who had stayed on the periphery of the crowd until now quickly formed up around the Royal Family, staying a respectful distance away as Father, Mother and Brothers finally got to be together after a very trying time for all of them. Frigga predictably hugged both her sons and kissed Loki on the cheek for good measure, all the while saying how proud she was of him and how well he had done and now everything would be fine. Loki had trouble believing that last part but he allowed his mother the happy thoughts for now, only time would tell if his regard among the people would change as they digested what they had learnt. Odin once again rested his hand on Loki’s shoulder and repeated the sentiments of his wife, without the kisses of course. Loki could sense no deception from either of his adoptive parents and he was as skilled in spotting half-truths and full on lies as he was at telling them on occasion, it was after all part of his purview as the God of Lies and Mischief.

The family made their way back to the Palace and separated to prepare for the feast, Loki definitely wanted a brief bath to wash the stress of the day so far away and a chance to relax would not go amiss either he mused as he entered his suite. There was a goblet of a familiar potion on his side table and apart from a brief annoyance at someone entering his rooms without his knowledge he was grateful for the thought, especially when he spotted a piece of parchment under the goblet. It was a note from Thyra expressing her wish that all had gone well for him that day. He smiled to himself, Thyra was indeed a good friend, and Loki could count on his fingers how many good friends he had. He drank the potion slower this time, wanting to savour the sweetness that he had missed so much. Feeling invigorated now he had a quick but refreshing dunk in his large bath and dressed himself as carefully as he had that morning. The colours as always were the same but with a touch more gold tonight. His best court clothes were his choice, his familiar black leather trousers, black knee high boots, a green shirt with even more embellishment that the one he had worn that morning and a long line black and green leather coat with a small gold gorget engraved with his snake insignia around his neck. Every visible clasp on his clothing was gold too and he made an imposing figure as he stood in front of his mirror to make minor adjustments and place his horned coronet once more on his head.

In a show of solidarity the Royal family gathered at the main doors to the feast hall before entering. Odin and Frigga would normally use a door nearer to the head table and Thor and Loki would enter by which ever door they were nearer to at the time but tonight the King and Queen had waited for their sons and the family processed through the lines of tables towards their normal seats. Loki could feel the eyes of all on him as he walked and he vowed to pay them no mind, he was not going to let any hostility ruin his first proper meal in so long that he couldn’t remember, not helped by the fact that time had passed differently on Sanctuary so that what had been a couple of months on Asgard had felt more like a year to Loki. He was looking forward to proper solid food, and if he was lucky maybe even something sweet for desert.

He took his usual place at the high table, glad to be able to rest again even with the eyes of the Court on him and resolved only to catch the eye of those who showed him respect that night. The first course was served and his heart sank to see yet more soup but a glance at his mother rewarded him with a knowing smile that bode well for the rest of the meal. Indeed once the soup course was consumed and the dirty dishes cleared away Loki was presented with a plate of succulent looking fish and vegetables, a light and simple meal, nothing like the dishes presented to others but welcome nevertheless. Loki ate slowly with relish, savouring each mouthful, trying to tease the components of the seasonings from the tastes in his mouth. It would take him a while he mused to get used to eating like this again but oh was he looking forward to it. He didn’t have half as many courses as his peers that night but he was happy enough to sip small beer from a goblet to disguise the fact that it wasn’t the stronger mead, which Eir had told him would not aid his recovery in the slightest, whilst he waited for his desert. His sweet when it arrived was hidden by a cover and the servant removed it carefully to reveal two sweetberry pies and a small jug of rich cream. He saw immediately his mother’s hand in this, she knew they were his favourite, he had been known to devour nearly a full tray on his own in days gone by after all. By limiting his intake tonight though he knew she also had his best interests at heart, this was by far the richest food he had partaken of, and he was still not sure of the effect of it on his newly repaired digestive tract. He did pour just a drizzle of the cream over one of the pies though just because he was allowed to and enjoyed every single mouthful of his treat. Never had a sweetberry pie tasted so good, not even the ones he had stolen from the kitchens still hot from the oven as a child. He managed to leave the hall after he’d eaten, there would be time enough to face the Court and the nobles in the days to come but he honestly thought that he had acquitted himself enough for the day and had no desire to watch the mead flow until all were too far in their cups to mind their words, or their manners. He bade his family goodnight and slipped from the hall to head to bed.


	4. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frigga has found a peaceful way for the family to air their grievances, and the Realm has a surprise for Loki and Odin.

The House of Odin were all gathered in Frigga’s receiving room for their regular afternoon tea. It was a quaint custom Frigga had heard about that originated on a small group of islands called The British Isles on Midgard and it seemed an ideal way to get her family to actually talk. All trappings of royalty and all weapons were to be left outside so that meant no Mjolnir for Thor and no Gungnir for Odin, meaning he was there as a father not as a King which was something Frigga had put her foot down about very firmly on early in the family recovery from rescuing Loki from the Mad Titan. Odin was only allowed to act like a King to Thor and Loki when he had Gungnir in his hand, at all other times he had to strive to be a good father. Frigga’s rule also meant no daggers for Loki but he’d long ago lost count of how many sets he had in his dimensional pocket and so his father, mother and brother had to be content with a solemn oath that he wouldn’t use them at these gatherings.

It had all gone quite well really, Frigga set a date, generally her day of the seven, every two sevendays and all were expected to clear their schedules for the afternoon. As long as Frigga made sure Loki’s sweet tooth was catered for, only small beer was served, and that Thor and Odin were provided with a small roast each all attended. Another rule was that there was to be no ‘business’ talk, they were not meeting to discuss the running of the Realm, trade agreements or pending treaties, no they were here to learn how to be a family again and it actually seemed to be working, Thank the Norns.

Loki had been the focus of a lot of the teas which was only to be expected as he had the most questions regarding the last thousand years or so. The Gathering of The Thing that had seen the whole of Asgard learn the truth of Loki’s origins and cement his place in the Royal Family and the Line of Succession had been a mere six sevendays ago now and Odin was already turning to Loki for advice on many diverse subjects after finally realising what a learned young man he had become and that he had a lot to offer Asgard which made Frigga so proud of both her husband and younger son. The teas had become the place where the family delved deeper and more personally into the issues between them, airing grievances and misunderstandings that pertained to them only.

Loki was lead family member today as they took it in turns to make sure no one was marginalised. Loki’s ‘adoption’ had been dealt with very early on and they had also had a very painful session, led by Thor surprisingly enough, about why they hadn’t been told the truth when they were old enough. Thor was adamant that it would have made no difference to their relationship as brothers and indeed all that seemed to have changed in these admittedly early days was that Thor seemed to think a little longer before he opened his mouth which could only be good in the long run. Today, Frigga was sure, would be the fact that both Loki and Odin could wield The Casket of Ancient Winters; she hoped it would be the last big revelation. Loki’s memories of his rescue from Thanos' clutches was hazy at best but he was in no doubt that he’d seen Odin wield The Casket and, and it respond to them both, but Odin had not turned blue, had not shown a Jotun form and Loki wanted answers. Once the family were settled in the receiving room and Frigga had made sure it was soundproofed it began.

“Ever since you showed Thor and I the Casket of Ancient Winters in the Vault when we were young I have been intrigued by it.” Loki started “It seemed to call to me but I was too young to understand what it meant at the time.”

Odin nodded at his words as Loki continued.

“I researched it in every Library I went to and I discovered that only those of the Royal Line of Jotunheim can wield the power of the Casket, though any Jotnar can carry it. So, tell me Allfather how does the King of Asgard qualify to be in the Jotnar Royal Line? I mean I assume I can wield it because I am Laufey’s son but you; you are Asgardian are you not?

Odin winced at the use of his full title once again; relations between himself and Loki were improving, especially now Odin was coming to Loki for advice about matters pertaining to the diplomacy of the Realm Eternal but he knew they still has a way to go before Loki would regularly call him ‘Father’ again

“I am not fully Asgardian, my son.” Odin said, ignoring the way Loki’s posture stiffened as Odin acknowledged their familial connection. “It is a secret I have kept for far too long, even your mother does not know, but my mother was a Jotun princess called Bestla so I am half Jotun and through her related to a branch of the royal Family of Jotunheim, in fact I believe Thor is the last of that line as it stands.”

Thor looked at his father shocked. “You mean I could use the Casket too?

“You could, my son but I do not think lightning and ice is a good combination and Loki has a greater claim to it than either you or I anyway.”

“I do?” said Loki askance “I do not understand; if Thor and I can both use the Casket are we relate by blood in some way?”

“No” Odin sighed “well if you are it is a coincidence and nothing more. Bestla was the only child of Ygni-King and Dapr–Queen but as with most monarchies succession goes down the male line and Ygni, knowing that his line would cease to reign when he died decided that the least Jotunheim needed was a strong ally and the strongest ally around was Asgard so Ygni proposed to my grandfather, Buri, that his oldest son, Bor, should marry Bestla. Bor would eventually be King of Asgard and with Bestla as Queen Jotunheim could call on Asgard if she had need.”

“What went wrong then?” Thor wanted to know “I never knew my paternal grandmother, she was never even mentioned. How has the mother of the current King been forgotten? You are not the oldest in the Realm, are you?”

Odin chuckled at the cheek of the question but then sobered again very quickly “No my son, I am not. Bor was a great King but a bad husband and Father; I fear I am too much like him sometimes. He and my mother had many disagreements, all behind closed doors of course, the Court never knew, but I was present sometimes, when I was old enough to understand something was not right. My mother ended up leaving my father and returning to Jotunheim, I never saw her again and Father expunged her name from all but a few scant records in case I ever needed to prove my Jotnar heritage. He also managed to make the people forget her somehow, though I never did.”

“Where does Laufey come in to this?” Loki wanted to know

Odin sighed “When Ygni died without an heir there was a power vacuum on Jotunheim. The heads of the largest clans fought for the throne, Laufey’s father Bymr won and was crowned King. The magic of The Casket knows who is of the Royal Line because The Casket is part of the Coronation Ceremony, though it will show allegiance to members of previous lines if none of the current are in the vicinity. If it were here now for instance only you, Loki, would be able to use its full power but when you were… unavailable on Sanctuary it recognised me as having the next best claim.”

“So when you fought Laufey on Midgard and Jotunheim,” said Thor, who’d obviously been thinking hard “you were fighting your own people! Where then did all the stories that Jotnar are terrible monsters come from?”

“I have never considered myself even half Jotun” said Odin carefully “though I fully acknowledge Bestla as my mother, there is not much point when I am the only one in Asgard that remembers her. I was first born; Bor was delighted to have a son and made sure I was brought up Asgardian with no reference to my Jotun heritage at all. I am so entrenched in Asgard and its magic that The Casket does not even make me change form. I suspect you change Loki because deep down you have always felt different and the Casket sensed it. As for the stories” he shrugged “History is always written by the victors and warriors always exaggerate their prowess so it is natural to cast the losing side as monsters especially if you only see the warriors of the losing side battling desperately with every means at their disposal for what they believe is right.”

Odin turned and looked straight at Loki “It is one of the things I regret most that I did nothing to curb the worst of the stories when you were young and impressionable. Jotnar could be the monsters because they actually posed no threat without the Casket and every parent knows the value of a good threat.”

Loki and Thor exchanged glances, they knew, or at least they though they did that Odin and Frigga had never used blue scary monsters as a threat but the caregivers employed by them most certainly had, and they both also remembered hiding under the long tables at banquets hoping to hear gruesome battle stories from warriors whose last battles had been against Jotunheim. In fact the brothers could both remember more than one occasion when Loki had woken from a nightmare about the Jotun under the bed and crept into Thor’s bed so that his big brother could protect him. As for the exaggeration, well Loki was an excellent storyteller earning him the only ‘official’ nickname he was proud of – Silvertongue and he knew that every good story needs a little hyperbole. It would be no fun at all if a warrior just said ‘I stabbed my opponent in the heart and he died’ however true it was.

“So” said Loki slowly “who else does the Casket give allegiance to now?”

Odin took another deep breath “You, of course, Loki as Crown Prince of Jotunheim, although technically now you are Loki-King after Laufey’s demise, myself and Thor, in that order.”

Loki sat gaping at his father “Crown Prince?” he said, and everyone would deny later that his voice had risen an octave. “I was Crown Prince?”

“Yes” said Odin “and as far as my intelligence goes you were the only offspring of Laufey so the throne is rightfully yours.”

“I do not want it!” Loki stated immediately. “I did not want to be Regent of Asgard when you Slept, I definitely do not want to be a full time King to a frozen Realm!” his eyes suddenly narrowed at Odin. “Is this what you alluded to in the Vault, that your first thought was to raise me on Asgard and then put me on the throne of Jotunheim as a puppet king when I was old enough?” his voice had grown louder as the question progressed and not for the first time was Frigga glad that she had soundproofed the room with spells, still these things needed to be aired and better here than in public.

“It was” Odin admitted and Loki grew rigid with rage, even Thor looked torn between shock and wondering if he’d have to insert himself between his Father and Brother lest they come to blows “for about thirty seconds” Odin continued in the face of Loki’s ire “Then you changed your skin and smiled at me and the idea just vanished. I knew I could never do that to one I was about to claim as my own. In that instant I fell in love with you Loki, as only a father can love. Laufey did not deserve you after leaving you in the temple as a sacrifice to the gods in an attempt to turn the tide of war, but here on Asgard you could have a loving home, security and tutors to help with your gift, Jotun mages are incredibly rare you know? And they are all about your size. I have not heard of another one born in three millennia. I admit we did not get all of that right perhaps but I hope we managed some of it?

“You did Father” said Loki thickly, just now realising how callous his life giver had been to sacrifice his greatest treasure just to hopefully beat his greatest enemy. No longer would Loki think of Laufey as a parent, Frigga and Odin had raised him and, yes, there had been complications but in the main life had been good. He was of course, technically a regicide and kin-slayer but somehow that seemed insignificant now, he was fairly confident that the fact he was acting King and the two Realms were at war would exonerate him from those charges anyway should they ever be brought against him.

Odin for his part was trying valiantly not to react visibly to Loki calling him ‘Father’ again. He hoped it wasn’t merely a slip of the tongue brought on by strong emotions. There was a long way to go before Loki would trust him again. ‘Love’ seemed like a dream at the moment but affection and respect? Well they seemed a little closer now from just that one word.

Frigga, whose role most of the time was mediator then spoke. “Loki, my darling son. As soon as Odin placed you in my arms I loved you as my own. I had ‘seen' you coming to us in a vision and could not wait to actually meet you. Your race has never mattered to me, except for health reasons of course, and though I may not have agreed with your father’s methods I did at least understand the reasoning behind them at the start. Now though I believe it is time for you to try and understand who you really are. You managed to call on your Jotun powers with no training to defeat Thanos soundly, imagine what you could do if you embraced your abilities? I still have all the books I gathered when you were an infant, books about Jotun physiology and magic, you are welcome to use them to see what you can achieve if you would like?”

“Thank you Mother” said Loki softly “that is most kind, and you know I cannot resist the acquisition of knowledge. I shall think on the Jotnar kingship problem too. I know it will definitely _not_ be me that sits on the throne but maybe we can negotiate a new treaty with them Father? A modified Casket as part of an idea to bring them back into the Nine?”

Odin nodded his agreement “The idea has merit my son, we will discuss it another day because you know these teas are not for Realm business?”

“Of course” Loki said contritely “my apologies Mother, I forgot myself.”

“Apology accepted Loki, the idea does you credit though, now eat your pastries before Thor does, I can see him eyeing them up!”

Loki quickly grabbed his remaining pastries, he had been without sweet treats for too long and though his bowels were much improved he still had days where he was ‘delicate’ but this was not one of those days.

Frigga smiled to herself at his actions, there was the young man she had missed so much, both Loki and Thor were still young men really, barely out of adolescence in the terms of some Realms and both had endured more than some of their peers on other realms already. As Loki enjoyed his pastries, Thor mock pouting at him as he did, she reflected that these teas had been a really good idea. All of the family, herself included had so far been forced to confront truths about themselves that they would have otherwise kept hidden and allowed to fester. She had to confront Loki’s feeling of betrayal that the one person in the whole Realm that he thought he could always trust had lied to him as much as his Father and Brother had. It had been with many tears on all their parts that her reasoning for her secret keeping had been aired. Partly it was because Odin had asked her and as a loving wife she was loyal to her husband and King though she acknowledged that she might have to stand up to him a little more now that things had changed. The other reason was more personal of course, she knew as a Jotun, even a baby one on an enemy Realm, Loki would have been a target for all sorts of attempts to cause him harm even maybe potential murder plots so Frigga and Odin had decided to keep that information secret until the old animosity had gone, not realising at the time exactly how long the grudge against the frozen realm would last or, of course, that Thor and Loki would take it upon themselves to break Odin’s edict and Loki would find out anyway, in the worst possible way sending them headlong into the catastrophe that they were still trying to come out the other side of.

It wasn’t long after the tea that dealt with The Casket that Odin and Loki received a request from the Leader of The Thing for a private Audience with the pair. Neither man knew what it could possibly be about so of course they both acquiesced to the request. The Audience was scheduled to take place in the smaller Throne Room and both Loki and Odin were there before time discussing quietly what the reason for this was. The pair’s relationship had improved somewhat since the family had been forced by Frigga to spend time as a family and not as King and subjects and so conversation between then, although still not easy was certainly not stilted, in fact they used the time to discuss what might be done about Jotunheim as Loki was still steadfastly refusing to even entertain the thought of ruling it, even temporarily, he was of the opinion that spending time away from Asgard now, when relations within his own family were fragile and his strength and fighting ability not much better would be a bad move both politically and personally. Odin knew he was right of course and was trying to find a solution that would work for both Realms which also worked for his family, with his years of statecraft behind him and Loki’s ability to think of more obscure plans that still seemed to work he was sure they could come up with something suitable.

They were interrupted when an Einherjar entered the Throne room and bowed to his King and Prince. “Majesties” he announced “The Leader of The Thing is outside with two guests.”

Odin gave him a nod and the guard left the room only to return with The Leader and two people who Loki immediately recognised as the male and female Heads of the Citadel of Magic. Male magic users, collectively known as seidmenn and individually as seidmadr, were rare on Asgard, and looked down upon by the warriors and most of the nobility so it made sense that they had somewhere they could go to hone their skills and practice their art in privacy and safety. Female magic users were collectively known as seidkonur and individually as seidkona, and had more respect from all classes as magic was seen as predominantly a womanly skill. One of the things Loki and Frigga were adamant about was trying to change that prejudice, Loki, as Frigga had pointed out to Odin just before they left to rescue their son, with his mastery of his inherited magic and his learnt seidr combined was the most powerful Mage in the Nine, his natural aptitude and love of learning helping him to that position, the irony of the fact that the most powerful magic user in the Nine was on the one Realm where it was belittled was not lost on any of them and Loki was looking forward to tearing apart the perceptions as fast as he could.

For now though as The Leader and the Mages stood before him and made their obeisance to him and his father “Majesty, Highness” The Leader started “ we thought you might be interested in what we have discovered about the manifestation of Asgard’s magic at Prince Loki’s Gathering of The Thing.” Loki perked up instantly, he remembered his conversation on the stage with the seidkona but neither she nor he knew ‘why’ Asgard had reacted the way it had.

“We are indeed” Odin intoned “it was most unusual to say the least!”

“As you say My King, it is not unheard of but definitely a rare occurrence.”

“What did you discover?” Loki was itching to know, everything in his life had been in a state of flux for far too long and he was desperate to have something concrete to build on. Odin glanced at his son for the interruption but let it go for now, Odin too wanted to know why the Realm had reacted so strongly.

The seidmadr took a step forward them “My King, My Prince, I have made a study of the phenomenon’s energy as registered by the other seidmenn and seidkonur present at The Thing and have come to the conclusion that the Realm itself was showing its support for Prince Loki’s actions the only way it could. In essence Asgard recognises that Prince Loki’s actions both before his Fall and during his captivity were solely aimed at protecting the Realm Eternal, even if he did go about some of it in a highly unorthodox manner. In effect Prince Loki is under Asgard’s protection and the Realm will not look kindly on any attack on his person.”

Loki and Odin were astounded, as Odin had said, the manifestation of the Ream’s magic was not unheard of but to have it explained in such a way was more than either of them had expected. Loki was particularly moved, the Realm was going to protect him from attack and he wasn’t even Asgardian, he was in fact a member of the race most hated in Asgard. Pre-Fall Loki, he pondered, would have made the most of this situation, possibly pushing the boundaries of the Realm’s protection to cause as much mischief as possible. His ‘new’ self though felt pride and a touch of confusion that Asgard the Realm thought him worthy of such an honour. He glanced at his Father and was surprised to see pride on Odin’s face too, directed at him. Suddenly Loki was feeling flustered, this was what he had wanted for so long, Odin’s approval and pride and now he had it he didn’t know how to react. Odin, seeing his son’s consternation put his hand gently on Loki’s shoulder “Peace Loki, I am proud of you, you have done something that no one has done before, gained the respect of the Realm itself. We can discuss this more in private but there _will_ be a proclamation made to this effect in case the significance of the event has yet to sink in for some.”

Odin then thanked The Leader and the mages and left the Throne room leaving Loki with the magic users. “My Prince?” he seidmadr started “may I be the first to congratulate you on this great honour? If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me at the Citadel and I will see what I can do to help.”

“Thank you” said Loki distractedly “Though I am not sure about the ‘great honour’ part. I only did my duty.”

“To a Realm that you do not technically belong to, and has always treated you with contempt.” The Leader said gently to take the inevitable sting out of his words. “Asgard rewards whom she will, how she will. She has deemed you may need protection so protection you shall have. We shall leave you now but as the Seidmadr said, any questions and you can happily seek us out for any answers we may be able to furnish you with.”

“Thank you again My Lady, My Lords.” Loki said inclining his head in a respectful nod. “I have little doubt I will take you up on your generous offer. For now though farewell.”

“Farewell My Prince” the three chorused just before they left the room too.

Loki had a lot to process and was still distracted when he left the throne room using the royal entrance. He was so deep in thought that he didn’t notice Frigga and Odin waiting outside for him and actually jumped when Frigga said his name.

“My apologies Mother, I have rather a lot on my mind.” He said guiltily

“So I gathered from your father” Frigga said kindly “what you need is a cup of something hot and sweet, why don’t the three of us go to my receiving room and discuss what has happened over refreshments?”

“A good idea as always My Queen” Odin said fondly holding out his arm for Frigga who took it and held out her other arm for Loki at the same time. He took the hint, and her arm and the three made their way to the Royal Wing.

Once settled in Frigga’s receiving room and refreshments ordered Loki and Odin told Frigga what The Leader and the mages had told them. Frigga was as shocked as the two men; she had never heard of anything like this happening either but took it for a good sign nevertheless.

Odin then turned to Loki “Loki, my son, I owe you many apologies still it seems. It saddened me to see how you reacted to my pride in you and I realised that I did not tell you halfway near enough how proud I was of your accomplishments when you were but a child. That set a pattern that was very hard to break it seems and ended up with us where we were before your Fall. I understand now that you did what you felt you had to for the good of the Realm in disrupting Thor’s Coronation because I refused to listen to you and that was when you thought you were still Asgardian. What I do not understand though is why you kept defending the Realm when in the hands of the Mad Titan? I thought you would have relished the chance to have a revenge on Asgard, and me in particular for the way you had been treated.”

Loki considered his response carefully. As the God of Lies he could detect when someone was telling a falsehood and his magic had not given off the familiar tingle when Odin was speaking so the King was telling the truth, he did now understand Loki’s motives for letting the Jotnar into the Weapons Vault but could not make sense of his reticence to hand Asgard to the Mad Titan on a plate when he had the opportunity. He started hesitantly,

“As much as I hated you and Thor before I Fell, you know how much I love Mother and I would not intentionally do anything that might harm her. Also the common people of Asgard have always welcomed me into their towns and villages and knowing what I managed to piece together of The Mad Titan’s methods I could not let that happen to innocents. Halving a population so that the remaining citizens might ‘thrive’ is not only madness it is also doomed to fail as the infrastructure of the society will be irrevocably damaged by the action. I know I tried to destroy Jotunheim in an even more horrendous manner but I can admit now that I was not in my right mind at the time, and had not been for a while if I am honest.”

Odin and Frigga sat in silence for a while, neither knowing what to say to Loki’s revelation. Frigga at least had an idea that Loki was loved by the common Asgardians, but Odin had not had a clue, he had never pieced together the fact that Loki was the one to bring problems from the provinces to the Court instead of the Jarls that it should have been. Odin had thought that Loki was just stirring up trouble instead of solving serious problems in the most expeditious manner as it was only the most serious cases that came in front of Odin. He realised belatedly that there was very few of the petty ‘he stole my cow’ kinds of disputes brought before him now. This was something Odin would have to investigate, not to stop Loki doing it, he would not do that to the boy now after everything, but to see if he could determine _why_ the common people loved him so much.

Frigga was the first to speak “Oh Loki, I wish you had felt able to come to us with how you were feeling before it all got so out of hand.”

“I do too Mother, but it was not to be, and we have to deal with the consequences now” Loki said sadly “We will, hopefully, be a stronger family because of it though.”

“Oh we will” Frigga stated firmly “I refuse to let this family get into the state it was in again.”

The tone of her voice and the look on her face left Loki and Odin in no doubt that Frigga was determined to say the least.

Odin felt he had to say something as well and he too pondered his words carefully, if nothing else came of this the House of Odin definitely thought more before they spoke now. “There is a Midgardian saying ‘you cannot teach an old dog new tricks’ and I fear that may be true but it does not mean that I will not try to prove that particular idiom wrong. My son I have made many mistakes with you, and your brother but never doubt I love you. I will do my best to make amends to you both.”

Loki sipped his tea, it was hot and sweet and doing a good job of making him feel better.

“Thank you Father, that means a lot to me and I shall endeavour to be worthy of your love, and your pride henceforth.”

“That is all we ask,” Said Frigga smiling “and we shall do our best for you and Thor too.” Finally, she thought to herself, this family may be able to move on together.


	5. Reconciliation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Loki's recovery continues he and Thor embark on a short journey with more than one destination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh goodness, I had no idea it had been so long. I am so sorry for keeping you hanging. Life had been busy, as it is for all of us in some form or another, and I have been doing lots of overtime. Hopefully it will calm down some now and I can get on a better schedule

Now that Loki's presence back on Asgard was known over the whole Realm he was theoretically free to go where he wished, restrictions from Head Healer Eir aside. In practice he still didn't stray far from the confines of the palace citing his lack of mobility as the reason for short trips only. It was his brother, Thor, who saw through the lie, or at least was the one to act on it. Before the Bifrost Incident Loki had been well known for traveling the Realm, visiting villages that rarely got to see any member of the ruling family ostensibly to check on them and report back to the King any concerns he found but actually Loki preferred the company of the common people over most of the nobility of Asgard and was happy to spend time with them in their villages helping with his magic if he could, and his hands if he couldn't.

One of the reasons for this, which Loki barely admitted to himself let alone anyone else, was the fact that there were few warriors in the fringes of the most populated areas to mock him for his use of such a womanly art, notwithstanding the fact that the widely acknowledged second strongest Mage on Asgard was Odin the King. Perhaps Loki thought it was because Odin _was_ King that no one would dare disparage his magic, Loki, on the other hand, was merely the second son, the spare to the heir and as such was seen as lesser and therefore fair game. Now that the whole Realm knew the truth, that not only was Loki back and a Jotunn of all things but the Realm itself seemed willing to defend him against attack, the people were justifiably wondering why, not the least of them Loki himself and that was the other reason for his self-imposed isolation, he didn't feel he could face such scrutiny and gossip when he didn't even know the truth.

Realising that his baby brother had started to hide himself away again and being stubborn enough not to let his family repeat their previous mistakes, Thor strode confidently up to the door of Loki's suite of rooms, knocked twice and entered not waiting for an invitation, knowing the wards would let him in without injury. This was a failsafe devised by the brothers when they were younger, both valued their privacy, Loki more so than Thor but both recognised that Loki would lose himself so thoroughly in his latest project that he could forget to eat, or rest adequately and sometimes not surface for days. Thor as big brother had taken it upon himself (when he had actually noticed of course) to practically drag Loki out of his rooms on these occasions and make sure he had something substantial to eat and a rest, generally in Thor's rooms where Loki could not return to the source of his distraction!

Therefore, Thor had no qualms about entering his brother's rooms practically uninvited and was ready for Loki's reaction, dodging the defensive spell launched at him effortlessly. In contrast Loki was not ready for Thor to immediately grasp him in such a tight hug that for a moment the younger thought the elder was going to smother him to death. With his head pressed firmly into Thor's muscular chest Loki could not make himself heard, he could however slide his hands between their thighs and push his lug of a brother away enough to raise a knee and threaten Thor's 'crown jewels'. Realising the danger his most delicate area was in the Thunderer immediately released his brother and dropped his hands to cover his crotch.

"I had forgotten that move Loki" Thor said warily, wondering if an attack was still imminent.

"I noticed! But I will not have you undo all the hard work Head Healer Eir, Healer Thyra and I have put into my recovery this far." Loki smirked "now why did you enter my rooms without knocking? You know how much I detest it when you do that!"

"I did knock!" his brother protested “I just did not wait for an answer, and I apologise for the exuberance of my welcome, but it is so good to see you up and about again. Anyway, come brother let us go and get some fresh air, it is time you ventured forth into the Realm again, you cannot hole yourself up in your rooms forever."

" I can try" Loki grumbled "Thor, you were there the last time I left the Palace grounds, you saw how the populace reacted to the revelation of what I am at The Thing, why in Bor's name do you think I would want to subject myself to that again!?"

"I did see Loki" Thor agreed sadly "and I was ashamed that you would be treated in such a manner. I also heard Father claim you once again as family in front of the whole Realm no less and I saw the Realm Eternal protect you from harm."

"That may be so." Loki conceded "but that does not mean that others will not try to get their revenge on a Frost Giant given the chance."

"Not with me there!" Thor argued.

Loki bristled at this statement "I do not need the God of Thunder to fight my battles for me!"

"No, you do not" said Thor softly "but you might need your big brother to give you moral support to face the citizens again. We should go to a village not often frequented by nobles, where only the common folk live, you would be happier there I am sure."

Loki considered his brother's proposal carefully. It was true that although he was wary of interacting with the people again, he was also awfully close to getting so bored that he might do something he would ultimately regret.

There was another thing to consider; Eir had warned him to be careful, even though his treatment was complete, his full recovery was still far in the future, he could stand and walk on his own now well enough, surely it would not be too bad to let his horse do most of the work if he went for a ride?

“I will have to check with Healer Eir but if she is agreeable could we take a trip to Thvengr do you think?" He asked tentatively.

"I do not see why not, though why that particular village?" Thor asked.

Loki coloured slightly, a hint of pale pink on his cheeks. "Ah. The baker there makes the second best sweetberry pies on Asgard and I thought I might deserve a reward if I were to venture from the Palace."

Thor chuckled good naturedly "You come to Thvengr with me Loki and I will purchase all the sweetberry pies you could wish for."

Loki smiled "I can eat a lot of those pies Thor, make sure to bring your big money bag!"

Thor returned the smile, happy to see his little brother genuinely interested in leaving the shelter of his rooms and smiling as well! After gaining the requisite permission, and the brothers both promising to take the best of care, the Princes made their way to the stables, Thvengr was a fair walk away but they could cover the ground easily on horseback. As Loki had expected the people they passed, servants and palace visitors alike all paused at least briefly in their progress to cast more than a quick glance at the brothers, most remembering to pay their respects to The Crown Prince but both Thor and Loki noticed that their darker looks and not many bows were aimed at the younger brother. Loki had gotten used to this treatment over time, as Thor had become a seasoned warrior, and Court favourite and Loki had been disregarded or downright ignored as being of no consequence at best and a nuisance at worst. Thor however had never been the target of such behaviour, he had always been the Crown Prince, firstborn son and had such been paid due respect even when he was a toddler and giggled when the adults bowed to him like they did his mother and father. So, though he was shocked when he took notice of how his beloved brother was disrespected by so many, he knew that making a scene in the Palace was not the best way of solving the issue, but he promised himself he would talk to Loki about it on the trip to the village.

Luckily for Thor's temper the stable hands and ostlers were pleased to see the Second Prince again. Loki was an accomplished horseman, more so than Thor and always developed a good rapport with his mount even if it wasn't his own steed. He also made sure that his horse was seen to properly on his return before he left the stables, many times doing it himself if he had time. The horses knew he was generally good for treats too and the sound of his voice in the yard often had a few equine heads popping out of their stalls in case there was a handful of oats or maybe a carrot or apple on offer for them.

The brothers had not hurried to the stables; Loki was still not back at full physical strength and probably wouldn't be for a while yet, so journeys tended to be a stroll rather than their usual brisk walk.

Once the brothers were mounted Thor led the way through the city staying close to Loki’s side in case of trouble. They did get the odd angry glare thrown their way but nothing physical happened, whether it was because there was no wish to attack Loki with the Crown Prince so close, or because the citizenry knew about the Realm’s protection of the Second Prince Thor couldn’t say and he was hardly going to mention to Loki the one thing that would be sure to have him turn his mount around and head back to the Palace. The brothers rode quietly until they were out of the city proper and got to the first fork in the road where Thor went to take a wrong turn.

“Thor?” Loki queried “Where are you going?”

Thor paused, confused “I thought you wanted to go to Thvengr?”

“I do.” Loki replied, “but it is not that way!”

“It is the little village with the pond in the middle is it not?” Thor asked.

Loki sighed “No Thor it is not. Thvengr is the one with the forge in the middle of the village and the large marketplace. Honestly when you are King you would do well to know the geography of your own kingdom! It is the other road we want” Loki said as he turned his stallion in the right direction.

“Ah, yes” said Thor following and feeling just a little embarrassed “maybe I will not need to know the geography of Asgard though brother, for I shall have the cleverest man in the Realm as my Chief Advisor” Thor said only half joking. He had realised whilst Loki was missing that he didn’t want to be King if he couldn’t have Loki by his side, they complimented each other in so many ways but Loki was by far the smartest of the pair.

“Oh yes Brother, and who might that be?” his brother asked suspiciously.

“Well, you Loki, if you want to of course.” Thor added hurriedly when he saw the look of shock on Loki’s features.

“Me?” Loki said, nearly speechless.

“Yes brother, you have been trained all your life to be King and although you do not want the title, I can think of none better to help me rule when it is my time. You and I both know that left to my own devices I would have us at war within six months at the latest.”

“That is true.” Loki mused with a smirk, and then his face fell as he remembered who he truly was. “But I…I am” he started, not being able to finish the thought.

Thor softly interjected “My brother and the best man for the job” he said sincerely, knowing Loki was worried about his heritage and determined to show it didn’t matter.

Loki, though still not convinced, was touched by his brother’s reassurance. “I will give it some thought” he said not committing himself to anything but willing to weigh up the possibility.

“That is all I ask Brother” Thor said happily “That, and you come to the correct conclusion of course.” He added cheekily, deciding, for now, to avoid the topic of Loki being disrespected through the Palace and city of Asgard, maybe he’d try on the way home when Loki was replete with sweetberry pies.

They rode on for a while longer until the fringes of the village were in sight. Thvengr did not have a large population but the village was a sprawling one making it seem bigger than it actually was. There was, as Loki had pointed out to Thor a bustling market with people coming from miles around to buy and sell there. It was the only thing of consequence that happened there so nobles and warriors tended to avoid the place for although the wares were well made and fairly priced, they were rustic and considered too crude for a nobleman’s abode. Loki normally loved it here, the people had always welcomed him with open arms and hearts, and he repaid their kindness by personally seeing to it that serious disputes with the Jarl of the area were solved as amicably as possible, even taking it upon himself to present the problem to Odin if it escalated. He was a more than a little concerned entering he village proper this time but was soon put at ease when a young girl ran up to him proclaiming loudly.

“Prin Ki is here! He came back!”

Loki broke into a wide smile as the girl spoke, she was one of his most well-kept secrets and it was a measure of how much he trusted his brother now, after everything, that he was willing to let Thor meet her. Thor watched on amazed as his brother leant smoothly out of the saddle, hanging on to his mount with nothing more than willpower and one lower leg to scoop the child from the floor and onto the saddle in front of him, she giggled loudly, and her laughter drew her friends who also cheered when they saw the princes. The two horses and their riders were soon surrounded by a happy hoard of children who escorted them to the livery yard on the side of the market square. The hubbub drew attention of course and as soon as the brothers had dismounted, leaving their horses in the care of an ostler who refused even a copper coin for his trouble, and stepped into the market proper they were greeted by respectful low bows and curtseys as appropriate from all present

Thor noted that, this time, he was the one warily glanced at whereas his brother was received as an old friend. A genuine smile had once again broken out on Loki’s face as he realised that here, at least, he was loved as he was before his Fall.

Thor desperately wanted to ask Loki who the child now comfortably sitting on his hip was but the press of people around his brother, asking after him and greeting him warmly gave him no opportunity. Suddenly the child piped up again, as she tapped Loki on his cheek to get his attention.

"Where you been Prin Ki? I not see you for ages!" She drew out the word ‘ages’ to make it sound like it had been years rather than a couple of months.

An expression of remorse raced across Loki's face so fast it was barely there before he looked the child straight in the eye to answer.

"Ah, my dear Bodil. I had to go away for a while" he said sincerely "and I am sorry that I could not let you know beforehand, but I am back now and will try not to go anywhere again soon.”

His word raised another cheer from the children and smiles of relief from the adults who had overheard. They, of course, knew exactly what had befallen their favourite Prince and just wanted him to know that he was still welcome in Thvengr. Thor looked on amazed as Loki interacted so freely with the adoring children, he had never seen his brother so carefree, well not since they had both been regarded as adults. He tuned back into his surroundings just in time to hear Loki say “Now Bodil, where is your foster father please?”

Thor watched as the girl, Bodil, pointed to a vaguely familiar man just reaching the edge of the crowd who relaxed when he saw her in Loki's arms. He made his way to the front of the press, bowed to Loki, and spoke.

“My apologies My Prince. I had some sweetberry pies in the oven and you know how they catch if left unattended?"

"I do Sune, and it would be a tragedy indeed to spoil your wares. You are well I trust?"

"Better than you it would seem My Prince" Sune said candidly, his familiarity with the Second Prince obvious to all but no one seemed surprised. Even Loki only gave the man a brief look of annoyance before turning to his brother saying.

"Thor? Sune and I have matters to discuss, you will be fine wandering the market on your own but if you need me, I will be at the bakery sampling the second best sweetberry pies in Asgard." Hitching Bodil on his hip he headed off out of the crowd and Thor suddenly realised why the baker looked familiar. He was in the crowd at The Thing and had spoken loudly in Loki's defence when the truth of his heritage was revealed.

Thor elected to give his brother privacy for a while and took his time wandering through the market admiring the goods on offer. He soon found he had an entourage of children following him and, unknowingly taking a leaf from his brother's book started entertaining them, not with magic of course but with his strength. The children soon discovered the fun of swinging on his outstretched arms to see if they could make them waver. They couldn't of course but they were not put off and just decided to see how many children Thor could manage at once. When every child had been entertained Thor asked a pair of boys, who from their looks alone had to be siblings where the bakery was.

The boys offered to take him, and he willingly accepted, as they walked the elder of the siblings said, “Are you Prince Loki's big brother?"

"I am" said Thor proudly "My name is Thor."

"We know" said the eldest boy “I am a big brother too. My mother says it is an important job.”

“It is” Thor replied earnestly “It is not always easy to do though. I have not been a very good big brother recently and my brother has suffered because of it. I hope he can forgive me in time.”

“He will” said the youngest boy confidently “I forgive my big brother all of the time, it is my important job!”

Thor smiled then, the simplicity of the children’s statements made everything seem so easy, if only it was. They had reached the bakery by then and Thor politely knocked on the door, giving Loki and Sune a chance to tell him to wait a little more if they had not finished what they wanted to accomplish. Sune himself came to the door.

“Your Highness, I am afraid the Prince and I have not quite finished our business yet, if you would care to wait there, I am sure we will not be long.”

“Oh, let him in Sune!” Loki’s voice came floating from inside “He will only sulk if you do not, and he owes you for two trays of sweetberry pies anyway.”

“Only two trays brother? Has your appetite waned that much?” Thor chuckled as Sune stood back to let him in. The smell of sweet pastries that had been tantalizing him from the doorway hit him full force as he entered, and he could immediately tell that Sune was indeed a master baker. He dutifully followed Sune through to the back of the shop which comprised the family living quarters. Sune stopped outside a shut door, knocked, and said softly “Are you sure, My Prince?”

“Yes Sune” came the equally soft reply “show my brother in please.”

The baker opened the door as Thor stepped slowly into the room, he was amazed to see Loki sitting cross legged on the floor in front of Bodil who looked to be concentrating extremely hard and then he saw the lilac flame in her hand. Bodil had magic! Thor may have not been an adept user of magic, but he knew enough not to disturb someone when they were casting, a lesson that has been a long and painful one from all the times he had distracted Loki in the past. The flame stuttered and died, Bodil looked upset but Loki was quick to praise the child “That was very well done indeed Bodil, I am glad you kept up with your exercises even though I was unable to visit. To be able to use magic like you do you must practice a little every day.” Catching sight of his brother he smirked and added “Do you know Bodil, you are better at magic than even the Mighty Thor?”

“Am I?” the child asked awed.

“Yes, you are Little One.” Thor answered before Loki could say anything “I may be a mighty warrior but when it comes to magic, I know less than you.”

Bodil giggled delightedly, it wasn’t often that she knew more than an adult.

“Keep up the practice Bodil and the next time I visit I will see if you are ready to learn something new.” Loki said encouragingly as he rose from his place on the floor.

“I will Prin Ki, I pwomise!” said the little girl enthusiastically.

The adults in the room smiled at her as they exited, Thor looking back to see a lilac flame once more in her hand.

Loki and Sune were talking in low tones in the next room over and Thor was sure he saw gold coins pass from Loki to Sune.

“Loki!” he exclaimed “I thought I was purchasing the sweetberry pies?”

“And so you are brother.” Came the rejoinder.

“Then why are you giving the baker money?” Thor wanted to know.

Loki took a deep breath, he hoped he still understood his brother as well as he had before his Fall as he was about to share something very personal “Bodil is not Sune’s daughter Thor, she is an orphan and I have taken on the financial side of her care because I know that it is the only way to ensure she can study at The Citadel when she is old enough. In effect I am her sponsor. Sune and his wife kindly look after her for me as I obviously cannot, and I want her to spend time with a family who love her before uprooting her to the city. And before you say anything no, the irony of the situation is not lost on me.”

Thor was astounded, this was a side of his brother that he had never seen before, he knew his brother was a private person, but this was something that Loki had kept well hidden. When he trusted himself to speak, he said.

“I am proud of you brother, to help one less fortunate than you is a very good thing indeed.”

“Yes, well” Loki said pinking up “I did not tell you before because you are unbelievably bad at keeping secrets and I was not ready for the news to become public.”

“And now you are?” Thor queried.

Loki hesitated “Let us just say that I think that now Bodil will be treated more fairly than she would have been before everything happened even with her association with me.”

As much as it pained him to do so Thor had to admit that Loki was probably right, had he not seen for himself the way his brother had been treated by both those in the Palace and the City today? It was shameful and Thor was determined to do something about it but at this point he was not sure what.

Having concluded his business with the baker apart from collecting his sweetberry pies Loki and Thor re-entered the marketplace where Loki took his time ambling around the stalls, successfully masking the fact that he was still not at full strength. A few of the populace came up to him with some matters they wanted his intervention in, and he promised to take up their issue with the Jarl when he got back to the Palace through official channels, using his position as Second Prince to its full advantage. This was something else Thor had noticed, people came to Loki because they thought he could help them, and invariably he seemed to be able to, whereas people came to Thor because they wanted favour with the Crown Prince and so seek to have influence on the next King. Thor hated this part of his life; he never knew if people liked him for who he was underneath the title or because of the title itself. It was, he acknowledged a problem Loki did not have. Loki was not a very sociable person in the Court so if people came to him, he could be fairly sure they were just using him to get closer to Thor. What Thor did not know was that Loki vetted these sycophants only introducing to his brother those whom he deemed were there for the right reasons. In effect Loki was looking out for his big brother as only a little brother can.

When they had finished their perusal of the stalls, and Loki had purchased a small trinket for his Mother they made their way back to the bakery to pick up the pies and then back to the livery stables. Bodil followed them from the bakery to the stables, eliciting a promise from Loki on the way that he would not leave so long between visits again and telling him that he could bring his brother again too if he wanted. Both Loki and Thor had to supress chuckles at her forthright manner, even at the tender age of 200 she was a force to be reckoned with and Thor could see why Loki and Bodil made such a good pair as he remembered a young Loki being very much the same. Bodil got another ride in front of Loki as of course they had to then ride and drop her off back at the bakery and the look on her face as she got her way led Loki to realise he had been tricked.

Eventually heading back to the Palace, Loki munching on the odd pie and even deigning to offer one to Thor, the elder brother decided that now would be a good time to have the much-needed discussion, though now of course there were two topics and Thor did not know which to broach first. Loki made the decision for him. “Thor, do you think Mother would be amenable to meeting Bodil?” Thor did not hesitate “I think Mother would love to meet her Loki and Sune and his wife of course. Why do you ask?”

“I was wondering about bringing her to the Palace to aid in her education, but I would like Mother to assess her seidr too as I have never tutored anyone before, and I would hate to get it wrong somehow and not let Bodil reach her full potential.”

“I am sure you will make a fine tutor Brother.” then he added tentatively “Are you thinking of adopting Bodil then?”

Loki gave an elegant shrug “I am not sure if adoption is not going a little too far at the moment but, if she could eventually become my Ward that would be enough to secure her future, and with my own future looking better than it has in a few centuries now might be the time. Also, Sune said she was enrolled in the village school for next year and while I am sure it is an excellent educational establishment, I am not convinced it will cater to all of Bodil’s needs.”

“Both are sound reasons.” Thor agreed “and of course you would have to make it official through the legal system?”

“Naturally” Loki said “I gave it quite a bit of thought, believe it or not, when I was … away. It helped me forget my torments to remember why I was not giving in to Thanos in the first place and one of the main reasons was people like Bodil and the people of Thvengr. They did not deserve to have Thanos’ ‘solution’ foisted upon them, they are just ordinary people getting by as best as they can and looking out for each other. I could not condemn them to death at the hands of the Black Order. I just could not do it. It does bring me to another problem though, I am not sure how Odin will react to my proposal.”

Thor took his time answering, “You and Father seem to be getting on a little better recently, I think he would listen to your request without prejudice.”

“You may well be correct Brother” Loki mused “I too have noticed a softening on Father’s part, though I would never mention it to his face of course. Mother’s ‘teas’ have had a lot to do with it I think, we are a better family than we once were that is without doubt, and I can only see it improving in the future.”

“Mother is indeed wise.” Thor said

“She has to be to be able to outwit Father when she needs too.” Loki chuckled and soon Thor, realising the truth of his brother’s statement was laughing too.

He also decided that he did not want to discuss the other matter that had upset him today, not wanting to break Loki’s good mood which Thor was enjoying seeing. Today was the first time in far too long that Thor had seen the young man his brother had been before it all went wrong, and it pained him to think that he could have lost this forever if Loki’s desperate message hadn’t gotten through to their Mother.

On their return to the stables the brothers handed their mounts back to the ostlers and made their slow way back to their suites. Loki was more tired than he thought he’d be and decided that he would have a nap before the evening feast but first he needed to thank Thor for today. When they reached the main door to his suite Loki turned to his brother.

“Thank you for today Thor, for once you were right, it did me good to get out of the Palace and it was nice to see Bodil again. It has also given me food for thought about where I want my life to go, in more ways than one. It is nice to think I might have purpose again.”

“You are welcome Loki, and you will always have purpose,” Thor said fondly “even if it is just being my annoying little brother, but I know you can be so much more than that and I look forward to seeing you flourish.”

Loki ducked his head but not before Thor had seen the faint blush on his cheeks. It was sad, he mused, that Loki was so unused to praise that he blushed when he received any, but Thor hoped that would change and that Loki would find his rightful place in the family and the Court again in good time.

“We should do this again soon” Thor said, “I think my purse can stand the cost of more sweetberry pies!”

Loki smiled “I would like that very much Brother, just you and me though, I am not ready to go adventuring with the Lady Sif and The Warriors Three yet.”

“Yes Brother, just you and me. I will not subject you to my friends before you are ready.”

Loki started at Thor, that was the first time his brother had admitted that the Idiots Four were not Loki’s friends but Thor’s alone, maybe there was hope for him yet?

“Thank you, Brother,” Loki said softly “That means more than you know, but if you will excuse me, I am rather tired and need to have a proper rest”

“Of course, Brother.” Thor said, “I will see you at the feast later, unless you are not up to it in which case, I will see you on the morrow.”

As the brothers parted ways they were both, unbeknownst to each other of course, thinking the same thing ‘Maybe I can have my Brother back even after all I have done to him?’


End file.
